Maine Development Foundation receives $750K to revitalize historic downtowns

FILE PHOTO / MAUREEN MILLIKEN The Maine Development Foundation received $750,000 for historic revitalization, preservation and other upgrades of historic downtown buildings. Seen here is downtown Hallowell, part of the foundation’s Maine Downtown Center Affiliate program.

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By Staff

A new round of federal funds will help revitalize historic downtowns, in an effort to support economic development throughout Maine.

The Maine Development Foundation received $750,000 from the National Park Service's Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants Program.

“The Maine Development Foundation serves as a critical resource for the State of Maine, making investments to help increase job growth and boost local economies,” according to a joint statement from U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, and U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, and Jared Golden, D-2nd District. “We welcome this investment, which will enable the preservation of historic properties, spur economic growth, and safeguard Maine’s unique sense of place.”

The money will be used for historic revitalization, preservation and other upgrades of historic downtown buildings. It’s also expected to provide important financial capacity and resources to help encourage infrastructure development and private sector investment that in turn will increase the value and use of historically significant properties.

The money goes to the foundation’s REvitalizeME Gen2 grant program, which is administered by the foundation in partnership with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, according to the foundation’s website.

REvitalizeME includes proposals for pre-development (architectural plans and specifications) and development grants to historic properties for preservation, restoration, rehabilitation or energy efficiency projects in the downtown areas of communities currently or recently served by the foundation’s Maine Downtown Center program, which is a statewide resource for downtown revitalization and the state coordinator of the National Main Street Program, a subsidiary of the Washington, D.C., nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation.

At the Maine level, REvitalizeME is a matching grant program for projects that provide broadly defined infrastructure that contributes to the social and economic life of the town and the surrounding area, and that represent the history of the local community.

Many people think of historic redevelopment in terms of something being made into a museum.

But a study released last year by Maine Preservation, GrowSmart Maine, CEI, Greater Portland Landmarks and the Maine Real Estate and Development Association showed the historic preservation adds significantly to local property tax rolls, adds jobs and spurs economic growth

The award to the foundation is part of a total of $7.27 million awarded in grants through the program to 11 recipients in 10 states to support the preservation of historic buildings in rural communities across the country.

The grants mark the third year of funding for the program honoring the late Paul Bruhn, longtime director of the Preservation Trust of Vermont.

State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, certified local governments and nonprofits are eligible to apply for grants to fund multiple preservation projects in their rural jurisdictions. Eligible properties must be listed in the National Register of Historic Places or determined eligible for listing at the national, state or local level of significance and located within rural communities with populations less than 50,000.

“By funding the rehabilitation of historic properties, rural areas across the country will be improved and strengthened,” National Park Service Deputy Director Shawn Benge said in a news release.

Congress appropriates funding for the program through the Historic Preservation Fund, which uses revenue from federal oil leases on the Outer Continental Shelf.