PARIS – Demolition work began this week on the old Oxford County Fair Exposition building. The building is slated to open as the Western Maine University and Technical Center next January.

Scott Cyr, Ray Lane, Wayne Lane and others from Cyr Demolition of Canton and Rumford were busy Wednesday tearing off the clapboard siding of the century-or-more-old structure to reveal the wide boards beneath. The building is located next to the entrance of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School on Route 26.

The Growth Council of Oxford Hills, which helped spearhead the project from the beginning, successfully lobbied for and received $1.8 million in funding when voters passed a larger educational bond issue in last November’s referendum.

The center is a collaboration of the University of Maine, the Maine Technical College System and Maine Career Centers. It will provide two- and four-year degree programs, as well as specialized training for area business needs.

The center will serve mostly as the administrative heart of the project; most of the classes will be held at OHCHS.

Bids opened in early April for the project resulted in an award to NorCoeur Construction of Westbrook to do the renovations, at a cost of around $1.4 million. Growth Council Community Development Director Lori Allen said that because of architect and planning fees, the Growth Council still needs to raise another $150,000 to completely finish the upstairs.

While Allen said she was pleased with the bid, the shortfall means that the Maine Career Center won’t be able to relocate from Main Street in Norway until the upstairs renovations can be funded.

A promotions committee for the university center met Tuesday to plan a community celebration in the near future, as construction gets underway in earnest, Allen said.

“We want people to see this as their center,” providing the Oxford Hills with its first real community college offering higher education for young and old alike, she said.

The work by NorCoeur includes gutting of the building to a complete shell, restoration of the foundation, completion of first floor offices, an elevator and two computer rooms on the second floor, said Allen.

The SAD 17 School District handled the bid opening because it is the owner of the building, and will be leasing it to the university center for $1 a year. School officials will also supervise aspects of construction so they don’t interfere with student activities at the adjacent high school, she said.

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