Funding needed to help build a new Asian-American community center in Westbrook may now be in jeopardy in the wake of sweeping cuts and freezes on federal funding by the Trump Administration.

The project’s organizer, Khmer Maine, a nonprofit focused on Asian-Americans living in the state, has a $10 million budget for the center. A full 25%, or $2.5 million, was expected to come from federal funding.

Now, according to Khmer Maine’s executive director, Marpheen Chann, sudden and drastic cutbacks and spending freezes by President Donald Trump mean he doesn’t know when or if his organization will see the money.

“It’s having a little bit of a chilling effect,” he said. 

Chann said Khmer Maine applied through Sen. Angus King(I-Maine)’s office for the funding last year. He blamed the funding freeze “and the general open hostility” of the Trump Administration for the funding now being in limbo.

Khmer Maine has already gotten approval from the Westbrook Planning Board for the center project. It is part of a larger, 10-acre complex planned for a 33-acre parcel of land on Cumberland Street owned by Watt Samaki Temple. The Buddhist organization plans to build two Buddhist temples as part of the same complex.

Separately, Khmer Maine is running the community center project. It will include office space for rent to other Asian-American organizations. It will also include classrooms, gallery space in its lobby and a community hall that will accommodate as many as 300 people.

The same hall, Chann said, can also accommodate up to 150 people when used to host other events. 

Chann said Khmer Maine wanted to build the center in response to a growing population of Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants in Maine. 

Current census data shows the Asian-American population alone in Maine to be about 25,000, with 8,000-10,000 Chinese and 5,000-6,000 Indians. Much of these populations, Chann said, are concentrated in southern Maine near urban centers.

“Our goal is to create a hub for cultural heritage and celebration so that our communities feel close-knit,” he said.

Chann said it was easy working with the Westbrook Planning Board, as Khmer Maine and Watt Samaki both believe in preserving nature and not damaging vernal pools and wetlands that are already on the property. 

“It just works perfectly with our ethos and philosophy,” he said.

The problem now is paying for it. Chann said Khmer Maine expected to raise three-quarters of the $10 million through fundraising and from private donors, and hoped the remainder would come from state or federal-level grants.

As soon as Trump took office, he began issuing a series of executive orders, putting a freeze on federal spending and pledging massive cutbacks in the federal budget.

The result: Applications for funding by congressional delegates such as King are now up in the air. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) said in a recent press conference that the House Appropriations Committee was thrown into chaos over trying to figure out what money could and could not be spent. 

On the senate side, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has recently become chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. A spokesperson for Collins’ office referred inquiries about Khmer Maine’s application to King’s office, which did not respond to several requests for comment by Spectrum News.

“Our hope is resting a lot on Sen. King and Sen. Collins,” Chann said.

Chann said the Asian-American community has worked hard across multiple industries statewide over many years, work that has been worth millions of dollars to the state’s economic health.

“We have a clear economic impact, and all that we’re asking for is give us a little something in return,” he said. 

Chann said the project will happen, and the center will be built no matter what the federal government decides, but without the $2.5 million, Khmer Maine will have to go back to its donors for more money or consider scaling back the center project.

“It’s going to get harder,” he said.