Fitchburg State University is planning an "Ideas Center" in a downtown theater building it is renovating. Photo courtesy of Fitchburg State University.

A $3 million infrastructure grant will help transform downtown Fitchburg, in part, by leveraging up to $100 million in private investments and supporting housing and mixed-use development planned in the city’s “smart growth” district.

Baker administration officials announced the MassWorks Grant on Thursday, and said the associated improvements to Main and Boulder Streets will provide a boost to related efforts to generate at least 139 units of housing, 62 units of live-work artist housing, and street-level commercial and retail spaces.

The grant will convert both streets from one-way to two-way streets and facilitate other changes to improve traffic safety and make the area more pedestrian- and bicyclist-friendly. State officials said the funds will also complement the renovation of the Fitchburg Theater that is home to Fitchburg State University’s small business IdeaLab.

In its 2019 grant funding round, the state plans to make more than $72 million in MassWorks awards to 36 projects in 35 communities. Baker administration officials are attaching some big numbers to the private investment they say will be unlocked by those grants – $2.3 billion and more than 4,600 new full-time jobs, along with more than 3,100 new housing units.

Applicants submitted 92 applications, totaling $223 million in requests.