LEWISTON — There’s been a lot of talk about the future of Lincoln Street over the years, and Jeff Lothrop has heard it all.

“They were going to take down Bates Mill No. 5, then they were going to put a casino in there,” said Lothrop, who owns Atlas Supply Corp., across Lincoln Street from the old mill building.

But now it sounds like something might actually happen with the neighborhood — not just the street in front of his store, but the entire riverfront.

“They’ve got a lot of good ideas now,” Lothrop said. “It’s about time. Maybe something could happen.”

Lothrop was one of the hundreds who attended public meetings and forums over the last several months, hoping to influence a master plan for the city’s Riverfront Island, the area between the river and Lewiston’s canals, from Island Point to Cedar Street. It includes the Bates Mill complex, as well as Simard-Payne Memorial Park, the Franco-American Heritage Center, Museum L-A — and Lothrop’s store, at 47 Lincoln St.

The nearly final draft was released to the public Wednesday. Consultants from Boston firm Goody Clancy will bring a final version to the City Council in May for adoption.

From there, it’s up to the City Council and the community whether to  make the plan a reality.

The plan calls for new walkways and athletic paths along Lewiston’s canals and throughout the downtown along the river; high quality retail, residential and commercial development along Lincoln and Oxford streets; and city features such as parks, fountains, amphitheaters and docks around the area.

Most of all for Lothrop, it calls for an end for Bates Mill Building No. 5.

“Get rid of it. Call it a memory,” he said. “That’s all it is now. In all honesty, even the security guards can’t walk through that building any more.”

Lothrop said he’s a fan of walking paths along the canals and an amphitheater in Simard-Payne park.

Susan Hall, owner of The Vault, a fine wine shop on Lisbon Street, said she had a lot of faith in Lewiston when she opened her store in August.

“There was a new spirit, new businesses investing in the area,” she said. “I would love to see the city really make full use of the canals. Whether it’s kayaking, or whatever, you only have so much waterfront. So you should use it.”

Lewiston city councilors this week also made a move to take over the canals from owners Next Era Energy. According to the plan, the city will take over the canals and repair leaks in them. The estimated $750,000 in repairs will be paid with tax revenue from Next Era’s planned improvements at the Monty Hydro electrical generating facility at the beginning of the canal.

Lincoln Jeffers, Lewiston’s interim economic development director, said much of the work called for in the Riverfront Island Master Plan depends on the city having control of the canals.

“Right now, they are not an asset to the city,” Jeffers said. “We can’t do anything with them because we don’t control them. But with ownership, we can improve them and make them more visually appealing. If we want the opportunity for the ice skating in the winter or the paddling in the summer, it’s much easier if the city has control.”

But the canal plan has already drawn one foe. Charles Soule of 135 Bartlett St. has started a petition to halt the transfer. He needs 859 signatures from registered Lewiston voters to call for a public vote on the matter.

“I think the city is taking on a liability we can’t afford in a recessionary economy,” Soule said.

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RiverfrontIslandMP Draft Report 120402 LO

River Front Island Master Plan Key Images