<p>The City of Portland Historic Preservation Program has received grant funds to aid in covering the costs of sending the Historic Preservation Program Manager and Preservation Compliance Coordinator to attend the National Trust for Historic Preservation's PastForward conference in Washington DC from November 8-10, 2023. The total cost for this project is expected to be $3,856.00.</p>

<p>This project will digitize the collection of survey forms that the Portland Historic Preservation Program only has in hard copy for the locally designated West End Historic District. This district contains the Western Promenade and Spring Street National Register Historic Districts. Survey forms date from the 1990s.</p>

<p>The City of Portland will use grant funds to sponsor a National Alliance of Preservation Commissions CAMP training for Historic Preservation Board or Commission members and staff. The opportunity to attend without charge is open to three people per Certified Local Government Community. The in-person training will create an opportunity for Board/Commission members and staff to network, face-to-face with other CLG communities. </p>

<p>The City of Saco has received support to create a new self-guided walking tour that covers theDowntown area and Saco Island. The Saco Historic Preservation Commission wishes to inform residents andvisitors alike about the community's history and promote Historical Tourism. The tour will encourage people toenjoy the outdoors, learn about history, and visit nearby businesses within Saco. The total project cost is estimated to be $37,948.43.</p>

<p>The City of Portland has received funding for the Historic Preservation Program Manager. This position staffs the Historic Preservation Board, supervises the Preservation Compliance Coordinator, and oversees all aspects of Portland's Historic Preservation Program, including application review, enforcement, public education, survey, historic designation, design guideline updates, advisory review of development within 100 feet of designated resources, and participation in neighborhood planning. The total cost for this position is expected to be $109,517.</p>

Variously used for the manufacture and sale of furniture from the 1830s through the 1980s, this complex of buildings were creatively rehabilitated and placed back in service in late 2000. Individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places, this certified rehabilitation project is a successful example of mixed-use in a downtown location.

Designed by architects Francis H. Fassett and Fredrick A. Tompson, Old Westbrook High School was constructed in 1886 and is a landmark on Main Street in Westbrook. Vacant and deteriorating for years, the Westbrook Housing Authority saved this monumental Romanesque revival building by using Federal and State Rehabilitation Tax Credits in conjunction with the Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. This beautiful rehabilitation of the entire school complex created twenty-nine units of affordable senior housing in the heart of downtown Westbrook.

The Cummings Shoe Factory is individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its nearly 120 year participation in the shoe industry in Maine, once a cornerstone of the State?s economy. This certified rehabilitation project converted the large vacant mill building into forty-eight units of market rate rental housing.

The Sisters of Mercy Motherhouse (AKA St. Joseph's Academy) was a previously vacant convent that was converted to 88 units of housing; 66 affordable and 22 market-rate. The building was upgraded for energy efficiency and several neglected maintenance items were addressed. Interior architectural detailing in the sanctuary, hallways and various other locations was preserved and restored. The rehabilitation was certified by the National Park Service in 2019. Photo by Christine Beard, Essex Preservation

York Manufacturing Company Mill #4 is a 225,000 square foot mill building that was previously underutilized and vacant for many years. The building was constructed between 1880 and 1890 as an extension of the York Manufacturing Company's textile production efforts. Mill #4 was rehabilitated into 150 units of market-rate housing with commercial space on the lower floors. The rehabilitation was certified by the National Park Service in 2017. Photo by Christine Beard, Essex Preservation