OXFORD — It’s difficult to drive through town without noticing some of the many construction projects underway in the community. From new business construction to a nearly $25 million state-of-the-art sewage treatment facility, Oxford is a town on a growth trajectory.

When it’s completed, the new sewer system in Oxford will be a first of its kind in the state. Its high-tech filtration systems and ultraviolet treatments, which eliminate the need for use of many harsh chemicals, will have some of the same technology used to make potable drinking water from wastewater in other regions, although Town Manager Michael Chammings assured that is not part of the town’s plan.

What is in the plan, however, is creating a business-friendly environment to transform the town into an economic model for success. Chammings said one of the keys to achieving that is investing in the town’s infrastructure. By the time the sewer project is completed, Chammings said, the town will be able to offer businesses along Route 26 water, sewer and three-phase electrical power — things new businesses look for when choosing a place to build.

“We’re doing more sewer work in two years than most places do in 20 years,” Chammings said.

The creation of a Tax Increment Finance District along the Route 26 corridor is helping to take some of the financial burden of paying for the infrastructure improvements off residents. The TIF district forms a tax shelter for businesses that locate within its borders, and gives the town access to funds to use for specific pre-designated purposes. In this case, investment in infrastructure is one of the major purposes from which the town is benefiting.

Chammings said towns are allowed to have 5 percent of their total land under a TIF designation and the designation is for a set period of time.

“We’re at about half of the allowable acreage,” he said.

Due in large part to the money the town can use because of how it set up the TIF, and also to a more than $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Chammings said, 60 percent of the new sewer system is being paid for by outside funds.

When Chammings started on the job about 11 years ago, the future of Oxford was questionable. Like so many other towns that rely heavily on a major business or industry, the town’s largest employer, a woolen mill, was closing at a time when the manufactured housing industry, which was the economic engine for the region, was waning. Chammings said forward thinkers in the town recognized the potential trouble they were in without making changes to attract new businesses, and they began looking to the future by making a plan.

The Board of Selectmen and Planning Board identified Route 26 as a prime corridor for economic growth and development while allowing other areas of the town to maintain their rural character. The town moved to rezone the area along that corridor for mixed use before designating it as a TIF district. Then the town focused on its trained workforce, steady tax rate, services and plan for infrastructure improvements to attract new business and industry.

“We have a comprehensive plan, and we have zoning ordinances, and an Economic Development Advisory Committee that all works together, and of course, we work with outside agencies such as the Chamber of Commerce and other nonprofits, and the state’s got an economic department, too,” Chammings said. “We do most of our economic development in-house, but we do have support from other places.”

Already, with Oxford Plains Speedway and county fair facilities in town, Oxford felt prepared to handle growth. When the casino chose to locate there several years ago, town officials recognized it as an opportunity to attract even more economic development. Now, with about 80,000 cars passing through the town on Route 26 each day, the TIF district in place and businesses taking advantage of Oxford’s potential, Chammings sees more growth in the town’s future.

“We probably have about 10 more businesses right now that are preparing to come in,” he said.

Some of those include a 93-bed Hampton Inn across the street from Oxford Casino, a new Dunkin’ Donuts near Welchville Junction, a party rental business and Leapin’ Lizards, an indoor entertainment facility. Chammings said several other businesses are in the infancy stages of locating in the community. Though he declined to provide names, he indicated that the other businesses include another hotel and at least two restaurants, along with some additional retail stores. Other businesses, including Grover Gundrilling, which expanded its Norway facility in Oxford, are less noticeable to the general public but still equate to economic development, Chammings said.

When the Hampton Inn opens in June, Chammings said, the new wastewater treatment facility will officially go online. Originally, the hotel was slated to open earlier, but delays in construction have pushed the date back more than once. Though the sewer system will be ready before the hotel’s opening, to have an adequate flow when it goes online, the town is opting to coordinate its full-production opening with the hotel’s opening.

Roads in Oxford have been under construction for most of the summer and fall this year, although Chammings said road work in the town is nothing new. He said the town uses about $500,000 in revenues from excise taxes for road improvements each year. This year, though, several larger state projects also took place in town, including a bridge project on Gore Road and another on King Street. Another large state project that’s projected within the next few years will add a third lane to Route 26 from Welchville Junction to Fore Road, Chammings said.

Much of the planning that the town has done, said Chammings, is the result of grass-roots efforts by businessmen in the community who want to see their community prosper, and it appears to be working.

“Oxford has a very bright future economically,” Chammings said, estimating that more than 1,200 jobs have been created in the past four or five years. “I’m very proud of the town. The townspeople have been very supportive.”

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