CUMBERLAND — A couple of years ago, Fred Briard moved to this city from a New Jersey township not far from Asbury Park.
The retired school social worker became familiar with Cumberland from visiting his daughter, whose husband works at UPMC Western Maryland.
Briard bought a house in the Allegany High School area of Cumberland, and said he’s been following the downtown remodel project since it started roughly 20 months ago.
Thursday, he sat quietly on a Baltimore Street park bench as folks gathered nearby for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the end of a $17.2 million project, funded by government entities, that replaced aging infrastructure and opened a pedestrian mall to cars and bicycle traffic.
“I think they did a very nice job here,” Briard said.
He described his new community as friendly and welcoming, and talked of joining Emmanuel Episcopal Church, which overlooked the stage where local and state officials were set to speak.
“Hopefully more people will start coming here,” Briard said.
Maryland Department of Planning Secretary Rebecca Flora said the improved downtown is “the front porch of Cumberland” and will help the city grow.
“It’s just gonna keep expanding,” she said. “These buildings are what makes this place special.”
Flora said she’s designed and built streets, and appreciated details that went into the downtown project.
“This is not just a street,” she said.
“It’s the heart of Cumberland.”
Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss talked of a new vision and clear path for residents and businesses to thrive.
He thanked the CEDC, Downtown Development Commission and several local and state officials — many of them were at the ceremony — for their support of the project.
“It took the entire community,” Morriss said of bringing the project to fruition.
Elements of the project, such as strategic planning, lasted roughly a decade, said Cumberland Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Matt Miller.
“To reach this juncture was not an easy task,” he said, and thanked members of a Baltimore Street workgroup, and past CEDC leadership, city staff and engineers for their contributions to the project. “It is together in which we will rise.”
DDC Executive Director Melinda Kelleher said the “true heroes” of the project are the downtown businesses that persevered through growing pains that at times included water service and power shutoffs, as well as demolished sidewalks.
She said 15 new businesses opened downtown since construction started, and seven more will join them in the near future.
Now, the best thing for the community to do is shop and dine downtown, Kelleher said.
Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day called the city’s new downtown a “world-class” public space.
“It’s a historic period for Cumberland,” he said. “You’re in the midst of a renaissance.”
Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman, who was also in Cumberland for the groundbreaking of the project last year, said Baltimore Street “has grown up.”
Investment in economic development is a crucial tool for the city, she said.
“This is not the end,” Lierman said.
“This is a new beginning.”