Developed over 18 months by the people who live, work, play, and invest in downtown Lewiston, it’s a comprehensive roadmap to help Lewiston’s Tree Streets grow as a safe, healthy, welcoming, equitable, and vibrant community.
After years of hard work and the contributions of over 400 people who live, work, and play in the Tree Streets, Lewiston secured $30 million in funding from HUD to bring the Transformation Plan to life.
The presence of lead in our blood, in our homes, and in our soil is poisoning our future, as individuals and as a community. Support for a lead-free neighborhood has galvanized the community to action and will require sustained and multi-faceted actions to achieve.
The narrative surrounding the Tree Streets is negative, and we are working to rewrite our own story. Efforts to clean up the neighborhood, restore public safety on our streets, and add beauty will improve our quality of life as well as public perceptions.
Many see our neighborhood’s diversity and multi-culturalism as among our greatest strengths, but until trust and tolerance are universal, we have work to do to build relationships across cultures and become a truly inclusive community.
The prolonged lack of investment in our housing stock has resulted in a lack of safe, quality, affordable and homes for households of all sizes and income levels. To jump-start the housing market and respond to the demand generated by the need to replace obsolete and sub-standard units will require both catalytic redevelopments as well as strategic infill.
There are few homeowners in the Tree Streets, though many residents hope to put down roots and invest. Given the very low incomes of many households and the reality that homeownership may not be achievable or appropriate for all, other mechanisms to increase pathways to ownership and boost community control and sense of ownership will be necessary.
Grassroots community organizing efforts in the Tree Streets which predated the Choice Transformation Planning effort emerged in response to local health crises – elevated lead levels, food insecurity, and gaps in access to care – which remain issues today. The health of our community members is directly tied to the health of our neighborhood.
The Tree Streets is a neighborhood blessed by many children. Living in tight quarters, our neighborhood youth spend much of their out-of-school time out and about in the neighborhood. A nurturing environment that provides safe spaces for play, access to mentorship, engaging programs, and employment opportunities will help to ensure bright futures for kids in the neighborhood.
In the Tree Streets, perhaps more than many other neighborhoods, there is a need for educational opportunities for all ages. Low educational attainment limits future opportunities for work, and varied degrees of English language literacy, and developmental issues due to lead poisoning, create additional barriers to employment. Learning and educational achievement should begin in early childhood, continue for school-aged children, and remain a part of adult life.
Ultimately, pathways to a future in which our neighbors and our neighborhood thrive economically will require the replacement of barriers with bridges to workforce training and jobs that pay a living wage, and the cultivation of commercial services that respond to community needs, which, in turn, become local businesses supported by the local community.
The Choice Transformation plan is Lewiston’s own plan for development. It was created over the course of 18 months with input from over 400 people who live, work, play, and invest in downtown Lewiston.