Cantwell Celebrates Grand Opening of Vancouver’s Main Street Revitalization Project

Cantwell Celebrates Grand Opening of Vancouver's Main Street Revitalization Project

City of Vancouver used $12 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to cover all project design costs and 41% of construction costs

VANCOUVER, WA - Yesterday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), senior member of the Senate Finance Committee and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, joined Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, Vancouver Downtown Association Executive Director Michael Walker, and local business owners and community members to celebrate the grand opening of the Main Street Promise project.

"Every time ... I'm visiting this area, we are celebrating something, but that's okay with me," said Sen. Cantwell. "It could be the STEM workforce, more affordable housing, the I-5 bridge. Each time, this community just grows stronger and stronger. So for more than 30 years ... Vancouver had a vision for Main Street, and what that vision today has become, is a reality -- a $26 million investment by both federal and local officials to improve Main Street and create a revitalization of this neighborhood for more celebration, more economic development, and most importantly, more community."

The celebration marks the completion and grand finish of the multi-year Main Street Promise revitalization project, which broke ground in December 2024. The project upgraded traffic signals and ADA accessibility, widened sidewalks, added e-bike charging stations, expanded outdoor seating, added community gathering places, upgraded lighting, planted more than a hundred trees, and ultimately transformed the historic downtown corridor along Main Street from 5^th Street to 15^th Street.

The City of Vancouver secured $12 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which Sen. Cantwell supported, to help finance the $26.5 million infrastructure project. The ARPA funding went toward design and construction of street improvements and wastewater infrastructure that replaced 100-year-old utilities.

Video of today's entire press conference is HERE; video of Sen. Cantwell's statement is HERE, and photos are HERE.