BIDDEFORD — A group of residents got a first-hand look Saturday at plans for a park on the former Diamond Match property.

The company gave the property to the city around 40 years ago, said Environmental Code Officer Brian Phinney, and it is now being developed into a public park.

Phinney and Bob Metcalf, a landscape architect with Mitchell and Associates, the firm that is designing the park, led a group of residents on a walk through the property Saturday morning.

The approximately 9-acre wooded parcel runs along the Saco River and is bordered by Main Street, Hooper Street and Hoorigan Court.

The park will offer a tranquil spot for outdoor recreation near the downtown, said Phinney.

“It’s pretty amazing. You can’t hear the sounds of the city at all,” he said.

Visions for the parcel include picnic areas along the river, walking trails and an amphitheater for community and small-scale events.

Metcalf said that the park will be kept as natural as possible, but officials would like to incorporate remnants of the buildings and large blocks of granite on the site, which Phinney said were collected from various sites in the city.

Phinney said there would be specific access points to the property, as well as fenced off areas, such as near the railroad tracks, for safety and security.

The park will run along the proposed Riverwalk trail and officials hope to connect it to the Eastern Trail in the future.

Richard Nadeau, 71, who has lived in Biddeford his whole life, said he can remember when the Diamond Match factory was in operation. He said he’s thought for years the land should be developed into a park, and he’s glad the city’s moving forward with plans.

“This is really putting the property to good use,” he said.

Funding for the project is coming from Community Development Block Grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said Linda Waters, Community Development Director. It’s federal funding, and no local taxpayer money will be used, she said.

The conceptual design phase of the project is expected to be completed by June 17, said Phinney. After the project goes out to bid the city hopes to begin preliminary work this year, he said.

Ideas from the public were taken Saturday and Metcalf said they would be considered when drafting a plan for the proposed park.

Biddeford resident John Miller said that he’d like to see a memorial to soldiers and some information on the location’s history.

“I think it’s nice. I didn’t know it was here,” said Miller. “It’s hidden, which makes it nicer.”

He said he liked the idea of using the materials already on the site and keeping it in a natural state.

“It’s got a lot of potential,” he said.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.