One of the many good ideas on hold since money got tight is a plan in Sanford to rehabilitate a vacant mill on Washington Street. The goal, of course, is to restore the dilapidated old factory and put it to productive use.

The effort has relied on a developer’s interest and town government’s sponsorship. Now it appears a $3.5 million federal investment could get the lagging project back on track.

From the start, the high cost of the project was intended to be subsidized in part by substantial state and federal tax credits. Affordable apartments, some of them subsidized, were seen as key to the project’s viability. It evolved as a collaboration of private and public enterprise, but commercial lenders reportedly lost interest in the project as the economy soured.

That’s where federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds come in. Maine stands to receive $5 million under the proposed Housing and Urban Development budget and the Sanford project is one of several in line for funding.

The town, in continuing collaboration with the Sanford Housing Authority, York County Shelters and York County Community Action Community, has used previous funding to purchase, rehabilitate and then sell homes lost through foreclosure. This approach has been used across the country, keeping the foreclosure crisis from ruining neighborhoods and making affordable houses available.

Although Sanford officials are optimistic that a similar approach can be used to restore the dilapidated mill, potential problems enacting the federal budget could interfere with this goal. In the Obama administration’s proposal, HUD is facing a 15.5 percent cut and some Republicans have called for outright elimination of the department.

It’s another one of those cases where the consequences of a tight budget could be painful to many. In difficult times, HUD is especially important because its spending helps both individuals and communities avoid some of the dire consequences of poverty. Without HUD grants, Sanford, Biddeford and many other communities would look a lot worse today.

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Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven at nickc@journaltribune.com.