Economic & Community Development

Community Development

As host to Maine's largest city, Cumberland County is a dynamic place to live, work, play, shop, go to school, and raise a family. GPCOG provides a variety of planning services to support our communities, including the following::

Community Development:  Services include planning and strategic assistance for comprehensive and downtown plans, project development, grant writing and professional development opportunities.

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG): Maine disburses $16 million annually from the CDBG program to cities, towns, and counties on a competitive basis for community and economic development projects.

Housing: Resources include data collection, trends, forecasting tools and research on affordable housing development strategies.

The Data Center: Provides information on Southern Maine communities, including public infrastructure, demographics, education, housing, and the economy.

Project development, including consultation, research and analysis, and grant writing.

Planning assistance for comprehensive plans, downtown plans, and other economic and community development studies.

Professional development opportunities for managers, planners, and economic development committees, including presentations, workshops, and other forums.

Staffing
Caroline Paras, Economic and Community Planner (cparas@gpcog.org)