By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Developers and city leaders hope to make the $29 million development plan for Cowan and Libbey mills bigger and better, with a shorter timeline.

Developer Travis Soule said he is working on a deal with the city that would let him do more work in less time at the Island Point project. Soule had hoped to begin redeveloping the old buildings off Mill Street this summer.

“The physical activity has been limited so far,” Soule said. “We’ve done much more in the way of feasibility studies. But we’re about done sticking our toes in the water. We’re ready to dive in, full force.”

Councilors are scheduled to meet in executive session Tuesday night to discuss possible changes to the Island Point deal.

Neither City Administrator Jim Bennett nor Soule would give details about the discussions or the possible changes to the development agreement.

But both said developers are discussing doing more work on the site, more quickly.

“We’re hoping to do a bigger, better project now – in less time,” said Soule. “It would be very similar in nature to what we’ve talked about, but it may involve more uses.”

The current project calls for gradual redevelopment of the Mill Street peninsula over seven years, starting with a condominium and retail development at Cowan Mill. Next, developers would begin work on Libbey Mill, finally building a luxury hotel by 2012.

“It might be in the developers’ best interest to get more of that work done more quickly,” Bennett said. “It could make each part of the project more economically viable if the others are finished at the same time.”

Bennett said he’s prepared to discuss possible changes with the City Council, detailing the benefits for the city as well as the drawbacks.

The city has already agreed to spend $7.5 million in the form of grants, road improvements and new parking structures at the site. That’s to be matched by $21.5 million in private investment by Soule and partner Vince Lobozzo.

Under the current development agreement, Soule plans to redevelop Cowan Mill, which he owns. He also has to complete a structural study of Libbey Mill, to determine if it’s best to fix the building or tear it down and start over.

The city has already taken over the former Empire Theater space and converted it to parking, as stipulated in the agreement. The city still has to build a 100-space parking deck north of Cowan Mill and above Veterans Park, finish traffic studies and road improvements around the site and put all utilities underground.

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