NORWAY – The C.B. Cummings Mill site may get a major face-lift if $750,000 if grant requests come through.

The Norway Board of Selectmen on Thursday approved applications for a $500,000 downtown revitalization grant and a $250,000 nonprofit development grant intended for mill revitalization projects.

The first grant, said Marcy Boughter of Western Maine Development, “would be for putting infrastructure on the site.”

That includes sewer, water and power line hookups, as well as landscaping, lighting and sidewalk improvements. It also could cover the demolition of the old dowel mill on the site, Boughter said.

According to early estimates, the mill demolition alone could cost $80,000.

Because the first grant is a downtown revitalization grant, Boughter said, work done with the money must tie into the larger downtown area. Tie-ins could include walkways and bridges that connect the mill site to Main Street.

Looking over a budget provided by Boughter, Selectman Bill Damon asked whether the town was responsible for a $26,000 match if the grant is approved.

Holt said yes, but the money would come from an old grant fund.

“The town’s legal responsibility is only $26,000?” asked Selectman George Tibbetts Jr.

Holt nodded.

The second, $250,000 application applies only to the mill property, Boughter said, adding that it would cover improvements intended “to make the site more marketable.”

“And it’s a brand new grant, so we have a pretty good chance,” she said.

An application for the $500,000 grant, which was then valued at $400,000, failed last year. Boughter has said she feels that ongoing site improvements and better-developed plans for the future may help bring in funds this time around.

The selectmen approved both grant applications with unanimous votes.