When a client brings us on as their development partner, they aren’t just hiring us to manage a construction schedule. They are hiring us to protect their investment, challenge assumptions, and ensure every dollar spent provides real value to the project.
Recently, we partnered with Animal Realty, LLC to develop the new Portland Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Care (PVESC) facility on US Route 1 in Falmouth, Maine. As part of the Traffic Movement Permit (TMP), the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) and the Town of Falmouth initially required our client to design and construct a 10-foot wide multi-use pathway along the parcel frontage.
The estimated cost of this requirement? Over $1,000,000.
While we are strong advocates for community connectivity, our team immediately identified two major logistical hurdles that made this specific requirement fiscally irresponsible for our client:
The “Pathway to Nowhere” Problem
The required segment would start and end with no connection to the broader pedestrian network. There was no existing infrastructure to the south, and no near-term origin or destination. Building an isolated path would result in premature degradation of the infrastructure without providing any actual public benefit.
Imminent Municipal Utility Work
The Town of Falmouth already had plans to undertake future wastewater infrastructure upgrades directly beneath the proposed path alignment. Constructing the pathway immediately would mean near-immediate demolition and reconstruction when the Town’s utility work proceeded.
Our development team, led by CEO Timothy Hebert, went to work. We spent months in good-faith coordination with MaineDOT, the Town of Falmouth, and our engineering partners at VHB and Acorn Engineering. We meticulously documented the real costs, highlighted the logistical flaws, and proposed a common-sense alternative: a fee-in-lieu arrangement.
Instead of forcing our client to spend over $1 million on a pathway that would soon be torn up, we successfully negotiated a $200,000 impact fee paid directly to the Town of Falmouth. This ensures the Town has the funds to build the pathway correctly in coordination with their future sewer work, while allowing our client to direct their capital toward advancing the actual veterinary facility.
Going a Step Further: Securing MaineDOT Cost-Sharing
We didn’t stop at reducing the requirement. Once the fee-in-lieu path was established, we looked for ways to stretch those dollars even further. At our suggestion, the Town of Falmouth initiated an application through MaineDOT’s Business Partnership Initiative (BPI), a program designed to share the cost of transportation improvements that serve both public and private interests. MaineDOT agreed to fund one-third of the $225,000 project, generating an additional $75,000 in savings.
It’s a good example of how the right relationships and program knowledge can turn a single win into a compounding one.
The Result
By leveraging our deep understanding of municipal infrastructure, permitting, and construction logistics, we saved our client over $1,000,000, and secured an additional $75,000 in state cost-sharing on top of it.
At Hebert Development, we believe the only fiscally responsible approach is the right approach. We don’t just build buildings; we build solutions.