Repairs under way at cultural center

LEWISTON – Work has begun on the $3 million restoration of the former St. Mary’s Church, which will be transformed into a cultural hub that will be renamed the Franco-American Heritage Center.

And it was not a moment too soon.

“This can’t last another winter,” Lionel Guay said Monday as he scooped up a handful of cement chunks that tumbled into a staircase because of water damage. “It has to be repaired. And it will be.”

Workers brought in materials at the start of the week to erect scaffolding that will rise more than 60 feet.

Last December, the cultural center announced it had received a $500,000 donation toward the project. And two weeks ago, Maine voters passed a measure to give the center $1 million. In all, the group has raised about $2 million, half of its long-term goal.

Donations have been steady but slow. Guay, who is chairman of the board of directors, believes some people were waiting for physical changes at the site before they were willing to give money.

“We’ve been telling people [the work start] will be soon,” Guay said. “It is now soon.”

Organizers believe it will take about $1 million to fix the outside of the building. Another $1 million will be used to create a performing arts center, and work could begin on it later this year, officials say.

The other $2 million would be spent on creating a museum and archives and the establishment of an endowment to maintain the whole place. That part of the project likely will be years away, Guay said.

For now, Guay is pleased to see workers on the site. He watched them unloading the scaffolding and smiled on Monday. The progress will be hard to miss. The structure towers over its Little Italy neighborhood. The scaffolding will rise to the base of the roof.

“Now, people will believe it’s happening,” he said.