WESTBROOK – Members of the Maine Development Foundation chose a good day to tour Westbrook’s downtown. On Friday, with the sun bouncing off the river and the sound of Saccarappa Falls in the background, the city’s newly formed downtown coalition showed off Westbrook’s assets and sought to provide an idea of the scope of work to come.

The Maine Development Foundation, a nonprofit that works with municipalities statewide to promote economic development, administers the successful Main Street Maine and Maine Downtown Network programs. Westbrook is looking to become the latter, and since the spring, the city’s downtown coalition has made progress, holding monthly meetings and appointing a three-member executive committee.

During an informal meeting prior to the walk Friday, Lorain Francis, the senior program director for the Maine Development Foundation, along with senior advisers Bill King and Jayne Palmer, outlined what the organization looks for before taking on new members.

“You’re a little different,” Francis said, referring to the uniqueness that Westbrook displays compared to the organization’s other communities. “You’re a little more urban, and kind of have a different southern Maine feel. I’m excited about it.”

Leading foundation members on the tour of downtown Westbrook were executive committee members Ed Symbol, owner of Full Court Press; Joe O’Neil, chief operating officer of Portland Pie; and Lee Hews, owner of Current Publishing, which publishes the American Journal. James Tranchemontagne, owner of downtown restaurant the Frog & Turtle, was also on hand.

The group walked west on Main Street, past Saccarappa Park to Ethos Marketing, pointing out assets as well as challenges in the area, including the vacant lot of the former Maine Rubber Co. and the Westbrook Housing building at 917 Main St. that offers retail and residential space, but has struggled to hold onto businesses.

Heading back east, the group took in the riverwalk, which lies behind a strip of downtown businesses along the Presumpscot River and stretches to Riverbank Park. King said the Westbrook coalition is on the right path, with a “nucleus of movers and shakers,” but has a big challenge ahead of them.

“You’ve got a long, dragged-out Main Street,” he said. “You have to pick one small center where you can grow the retail. To try to do the whole thing at once will kill you.”

King, who has 25 years experience, said the Downtown Network is the “stepping stone” to becoming a Main Street Maine community, and that the organization has looked to be more selective in bringing on additional programs.

Francis added that only two Downtown Network communities have dropped out of the program, but some have required efforts to refocus.

“It’s one of the reasons we’re here asking tough questions, because we want to make sure we’re doing this right, and that you guys are really prepared for it,” she said.

According to the Maine Development Foundation website, the Maine Downtown Network was launched in 2009 as a sister program to Main Street Maine using the same four-point approach but at a lighter, less rigorous pace. It says the downtown network is “ideal for communities in the early stages of downtown revitalization.”

King, along with Palmer, first brought the Main Street program to Maine in Bath, where it has been a Main Street community since 2000. He said the town has one of the most successful programs, but it was a long process to where it is now, something he reminded coalition members in Westbrook.

Palmer said she sees “a lot of potential” in the downtown, but that the city needs to promote its assets. She suggested more activities in the downtown, better signage stemming from the highway, and adding public restrooms.

Francis said the next step is to provide training for the executive committee members, as the coalition is now charged with hiring a part-time coordinator position to lead the program in Westbrook.

Touring downtown Westbrook last Friday are, from left, Joe O’Neil, chief operating officer of Portland Pie; Ed Symbol, owner of Full Court Press; and Lorain Francis, senior program director at the Maine Development Foundation. A downtown coalition has been formed in an attempt to revitalize Main Street.