OAKLAND — The state has approved a 30-year municipal tax financing district for the town of Oakland that officials hope will lure businesses and provide a boost to the downtown area.

The Maine Department of Economic and Community Development last week approved creating a downtown tax increment financing district, or TIF. The district covers about 37 acres, extending from West School Street to the intersection of High and Oak streets and then across to where Main Street intersects with Kennedy Memorial Drive.

Downtown Oakland was bustling decades ago, but several storefronts are now empty and the area is in need of economic support, Town Manager Ella Bowman said.

“Our downtown’s kind of been needing some love,” she said Tuesday, adding the adoption of a TIF district could be the answer.

A municipal TIF district is a public financing method used to jumpstart community improvement projects in an area designated to be in need of economic support, according to Garvan Donegan, director of planning, innovation and economic development for the Central Maine Growth Council, based in Waterville.

When properties within a TIF district increase in value, they generate greater tax revenue. The incremental increase in taxes is leveraged to fund public projects, such as the revitalization of downtown Oakland.

Donegan said the county and state cannot collect taxes on the money a TIF district generates, making the area more attractive to private investors.

“I believe this is going to be the keys to start our economic engine downtown,” Bowman said. “It’s going to generate a couple million dollars over the course of time, and that money is going to be available for reinvestment.”

The money is to be used to retain and add businesses, make facade improvements, promote and market the town and improve area trail connections.

Downtown Oakland’s greatest need is an eatery, according to Bowman. While the area offers cafes and places to get takeout food during the day, she said families in Oakland want a nearby place to have a sit-down meal in the evenings.

Bowman said she also wants to see a reinvestment in arts and culture downtown, which could include attracting an arts store. Also within the TIF district is Memorial Hall at 26 Church St., which is undergoing a $5 million restoration that can now be helped with TIF funds.

Once the restoration of Memorial Hall is completed, town officials hope the historic building can again become a community hub for residents and a performing arts venue.

Donegan said reinvigorating downtown Oakland could have a ripple effect across the region. The town is located off Interstate 95 and near the Belgrade Lakes Region, he said.

“By growing and investing into an urban core, or a downtown, that can be quite a regional attraction,” Donegan said. “The old saying — ‘A rising tide lifts all boats’ — is likely pretty accurate here.”

The process of envisioning a stronger downtown could also be beneficial in bringing together the Oakland community, Donegan said. The process forces residents and municipal leaders to consider the town’s core values and needs, and work together to create a vision for the future, he said.

“It’s taken a lot of energy, it’s taken a lot of people and it’s taken a lot of commitment from our local businesses, who have volunteered their time to brainstorm ways to bring this town back together,” Bowman said. “They’ve chosen to make Oakland the place to live.”

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