Jim Bennett’s pretty adamant: Lisbon Street’s future is going to be tied to the big looming mill a block over, Bates mill no. 5.

“There is no single event, opportunity, person, whatever, that has more influence on what happens in downtown Lewiston and Auburn than that mill,” the city administrator said. “That is going to define collectively what our downtowns are going to be like the next 30-40 years.”

Describing Lisbon Street as the “spine” of downtown, he said progress has slowed as the economy has slowed.

Lewiston’s had to pick its “micro-deals” carefully, he said. Roughly $9.6 million in city money several years ago spurred $13 million in investment in the Southern Gateway and boosted values. Bennett said property where VIP Auto is now sat on the market for a long time at $500,000 with no nibbles. After the area got hot, it sold for $725,000.

“The Southern gateway was designed to create an anchor and purge the ugliness of the past,” said Greg Mitchell, former economic development chief for Lewiston and now a consultant at Eaton Peabody. “We’ve accomplished that. Now we need to take it to the next level.”

What Bennett would like to see: A “sense of energy and life, whether that’s around arts, physical fitness, whatever there is, there needs to be life and energy.”

The ’90s were about letting things happen, he added. Now, it’s about making things happen.

Current development head Lincoln Jeffers has been working with the Main Street Program and GrowSmart Maine on legislation to adjust building codes and bring down the cost of pricey rehab work above storefronts.

“We’ve done really well getting people to work downtown; the next step is getting people to live downtown,” he said.

On the business front, he called Eric Agren the poster child of Lisbon Street. People see Fuel’s success and think, “My God, downtown is a viable option,” Jeffers said.

Yet Bennett said he wouldn’t be surprised to see businesses put off major downtown investments until mill no. 5 has a definite plan.

A task force is expected to report out recommendations in February or March; it might take as long as two years before anything’s firm.

A convention center “is clearly on the table. I think it’s on the table with giant asterisks,” Bennett said.