CONCORD — The City Council will be asked at its Aug. 13 meeting to accept a federal grant and approve moving forward on a planned renovation of 12 blocks of Main Street, but Mayor Jim Bouley said there will still be time to gather more community input on the details. Bouley promised to do so at a meeting Thursday.

The two biggest concerns expressed by downtown merchants, as well as their customers, continue to be the possibility of reduced parking and the financial impact of a lengthy construction project that will make accessing businesses difficult.

“There are still plenty of decisions to be made,” said Bouley, but the goal is to have the project, 60 percent of it paid for by a $4.7 million federal grant, under construction in 2014. The remaining 40 percent of the cost — $3.2 million — is to be split evenly between the city and private sources.

Bouley spoke at a gathering of city officials and business people who worked on the application Thursday at the Chamber of Commerce office in the Smile building.

It was an opportunity to celebrate last month's award announcement and to thank U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, and her staff, for their help in winning the competitive grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program.

The city's transportation infrastructure project had to compete with 702 other projects, with a total price tag of more than $10 billion, for a portion of the $500 million available.

“I'm a real believer in infrastructure investment,” Shaheen said.

As a state senator, and later as governor, Shaheen said she also came to understand the impact of so many tax-exempt properties on the city and the need for federal help.

“You really do have some unique issues,” she said.

Developer and businessman Steve Duprey already has a major law firm and an expanded Gibson's Bookstore signed up for a new 70,000 –square-foot building to be constructed next to the Smile building. He said one aspect of the plan is to expand the use of underground steam to keep sidewalks snow-free and dry without plowing. He did zero plowing last winter.

“People loved it,” said Duprey.

“I'm excited about what's under the ground,” Bouley said.

The utilities will include steam, gas and fiber optics. The level of the street itself will be adjusted to address Americans With Disabilities Act barrier issues.

While the mood was celebratory Thursday, participants also talked about problems that still need to be addressed, like turning upper floors of buildings into housing, attracting and keeping young people in the area, and establishing business incubator space.

Duprey said Concord needs to celebrate its Concord Coach heritage, as well as its modern day Capital Center for the Arts, Red River Theatre, planetarium, Community Music School and Kimball Jenkins Art School.

Concord should be a destination for visitors, said Duprey. He and other leaders are hoping the renovation helps with that goal.

dvincent@unionleader.com