WILTON — The Office of Community Development, Maine Department of Economic and Community Development told town officials Wednesday that it has been awarded a Community Development Block Grant Downtown Revitalization Grant of $400,000.

The grant is contingent upon federal funding to the DECD.

Town Manager Rhonda Irish said in a news release that the town plans to maximize the the grant funds to build momentum for investment in downtown improvements.

According to the release, goals and improvements planned include the Main Street and the Forster Mill/Depot Street gateways, streetscape improvements and cleanup and removal of blighted buildings. The town also will rehabilitate segments of the downtown sidewalks as its share of the grant.

Revitalization activities will be linked directly to the town’s downtown plan, Irish said. The improvements are an economic development priority to stimulate the economy downtown as well as Wilton’s economy in general.

Other goals of the grant are to improve safety and living conditions in the downtown area, she said.

According to the release, the Wilton Downtown Committee spent the past three years working on implementing action plan items and working toward a Downtown Revitalization Grant application.

In November 2014, the selectboard contracted with economic and community development specialist Darryl Sterling to provide community development services for Wilton. Sterling spent the first six months meeting and working with local businesses and the Wilton Downtown Committee, and working on submitting the grant application. Writing the grant was a collaboration among Sterling, Town Office staff, downtown businesses and the committee.

The town is beginning the project development and environmental review stage of the application process. Terry Ann Holden from the state Department of Economic and Community Development is the program development manager.

For more information, contact Irish at 207-645-496, Sterling at 207-807-9062 or Terry Ann Holden at 207-624-9814.