SUN JOURNAL • November 17, 2022
A $30 million redevelopment grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is slated to bring $100 million worth of investment into Lewiston, creating 185 new housing units in an area where the rate of childhood lead poisoning is higher than anywhere else in Maine. “I do believe it will be transformational, as long as we adhere to the spirit of the plan where new rental housing is only one piece of the solution,” said Amy Smith, founder of Healthy Homeworks and a member of the Healthy Neighborhoods Planning Council, which organized the planning effort. The focus on removing lead paint from homes will have a “transformative” impact on the entire city.