SANFORD — Standing at the top of the Gary D. Sullivan Walkway, looking down the sweep of stairs, one can picture what’s behind the red building just across Riverside Avenue, and imagine what the view would be if the building weren’t there.

Sullivan’s son, Shawn, said he and a friend were looking down the walkway at the Mid-Town Mall a couple of weeks ago and had a similar conversation.

“Yes, I can imagine seeing the water,” he said.

The building won’t be there for long ”“ the town bought it and plans to tear it down and make a park in the space, opening the view to the waterfall and Number One Pond.

It’s part of the vision.

For Gary Sullivan, it was all about imagining the possibilities ”“ of what could happen and should happen as Sanford looked toward its future. He had a picture in his mind of a vibrant bustling downtown, including a transformation of the 1970s-era Mid-Town Mall.

“This is what he envisioned,” said Sullivan’s wife, Lorraine. “It was a given, a fact of life for him ”¦ he had determination.”

In December 2011, recognizing Sullivan’s vision and innumerable contributions to the town, the town council dedicated the new walkway in his honor. Sullivan, who had lived with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis for seven years, died three weeks later, on Jan. 8. And while the project has been complete for awhile, the Gary D. Sullivan Walkway ”“ built with a $125,000 grant and $123,000 from a TIF and a facade account ”“ was formally opened Tuesday evening. The walkway is the beginning of the town’s quest to open a vista from Main Street to the Mousam River.

Friends and family members gathered at the top of the walkway Tuesday. Town Council Chairman Alan Walsh spoke of Sullivan’s contributions and of his vision for downtown and the Mid-Town Mall, which he had advocated be renamed Phillipstown Place, after Sanford’s original name.

Walsh said he wasn’t always in favor of that vision, but Sullivan brought him around.

“We all honor Gary and appreciate what he did,” said Walsh.

The Sanford High School chorus sang “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” with the audience joining in on the chorus.

“I believe Irish eyes are smiling down today,” said Walsh. “I can almost see the twinkle.”

Shawn Sullivan spoke for the family.

He said during his father’s last year he enjoyed driving around town and seeing what was happening. As his disease progressed, his wife, Lorraine, Shawn or Shawn’s sister, Kelly, would do the driving. They’d begin in south Sanford and make the rounds, looking at the town, looking at changes.

On Sullivan’s last day, in his final hour, as his son sat with him, he took his father on a virtual drive around town.

“He listened ”¦ he couldn’t say much. I could tell he was grateful. He loved this town,” said Sullivan.

In an interview just before the Dec. 21 dedication of the walkway in his honor, Gary Sullivan spoke of his hometown.

“I really do love Sanford. It has treated me well and given me a great life,” he said. “I’d like to challenge people in Sanford to rise to the occasion. Everybody can do something. You can volunteer, sponsor a tree. To sit home and complain ”¦ is awful.”

His son had similar advice.

“I encourage you to follow in his footsteps,” he said to those assembled Tuesday. “Stand here and look around at what can happen.”

Then, with the Sullivan family taking the lead, everyone descended the walkway, taking a step toward Sanford’s future.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, Ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.