News

Field Reps Hired Thanks to Four Generous Grants

Portland, ME, July 2009– With half the land area of New England and one of the oldest housing stocks in America, the huge need for guidance in repairing historic buildings in Maine has not yet been met – until now. To respond to this need, Maine Preservation has recently hired two new Field Service Representatives. The Field Reps provide initial review of historic buildings needing repair and offer guidance, recommendations and referrals to organizations, local governments, and building and home owners engaged in preservation projects.

The program is funded by $460,000 that was recently raised. Funders include: grants to Maine Preservation of $60,000 – renewable for two additional years for up to $180,000 – from the Maine Community Foundation’s Belvedere Fund for Historic Preservation, and $10,000 from the Maine Downtown Center of the Maine Development Foundation; and grants to Maine Preservation and Greater Portland Landmarks of $130,000 from Boston-based Jane’s Trust, and $150,000 from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The National Trust grant was one of only twenty-one nationwide, and equaled California as the largest in the country.

Maine Preservation has hired Rochelle Bohm, who is based in Bangor serving Eastern and Northern Maine, and a new second Field Rep, Christopher Closs, shared with Greater Portland Landmarks, serving Western and Southern Maine and the Greater Portland area. The organizations’ overall goals are to preserve more historic places and to use field services as catalysts for economic development, technical assistance and education. The Field Reps evaluate projects and provide on-site guidance at the local level as citizens make decisions and act to preserve historic resources. Small matching seed grants of $500 will also be available to help move projects forward.

“Field services offer an ideal approach throughout Maine to help and train people in their own community, not only to address the issues at hand, but to build knowledge and the ability to better address future preservation issues,” said Greg Paxton, Maine Preservation executive director. “By being involved early in projects the Field Reps help shepherd scant resources in the right direction, saving time and money and producing longer-lasting results. This increases the economic feasibility and return for the project and benefits the surrounding real estate market. Preservation is a strong catalyst for downtown revitalization and neighborhood rehabilitation.”

The new Field Reps, Closs and Bohm, are both experienced preservation professionals. Closs, who has more than 30 years of experience in historic preservation, mostly in New Hampshire , but also including a stint as a field rep for the National Trust’s Northeast Office, will split his time between Maine Preservation and Greater Portland Landmarks. Bohm has administered a technical assistance program and the historic rehab tax incentive

program in Delaware before moving to Bangor, where her husband grew up.

Bohm has recently visited Moosehead Manufacturing Mill in Dover-Foxcroft, Lakewood Theatre in Skowhegan and the Holden Congregational Church. She stated: “The Field Rep program is a valuable resource for individuals and groups throughout Maine interested in preserving historic properties. The program enhances the ability of Maine Preservation to provide guidance to help ensure good preservation projects.”

Closs has visited the Walker Memorial Public Library in Westbrook, the Roberts Farm with the Western Foothills Land Trust in Norway , and the Pennell Institute in Gray. Closs stated: “As Maine’s historic downtowns, landmark properties and endangered landscapes – vital elements of  the state’s economy – proceed into the 21 st Century and encounter the challenges of sustainable development, field services will fill a void in delivering cutting-edge information, technical assistance and innovative strategies for preservation, both to local leaders and state decision-makers, while offering a new variation on an old Yankee maxim: ‘If it needs fixin’, don’t break it!’”

The Field Reps are also working in conjunction with the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Northeast Regional Office in Boston and with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and the Maine Downtown Center of the Maine Development Foundation in Augusta . With more than 7,000 buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places in Maine and 17 Main Street and downtown Network communities, business promises to be busy.

For further information contact Maine Preservation at www.mainepreservation.org and Greater Portland Landmarks at www.portlandlandmarks.org .

                                   Last Updated Tuesday, December 1, 2009 12:31 PM