RUMFORD – All of the funding for the renovation of a former mill into a River Valley Technology Center has been nailed down.

The RVTC board is now waiting for the town of Rumford to complete the required paperwork, and letters of commitment from the funding sources to arrive by the end of the week.

RVTC Director Norman MacIntyre told the board Tuesday afternoon that a $500,000 has been secured from last month’s state economic bond issue, and another $400,000 is expected from the federal Community Development Block Grant program.

Rumford officials must sign as co-applicants for the CDBG because the building is located in that town.

Another $43,000, to meet the bid amount, will either come from the RVTC’s management grant, or the total bid will be shaved to accommodate the slightly less money than required by CCB Inc., the general contractor from Westbrook, which submitted the lowest bid for the project.

“We’ll then have a contract signing ceremony,” said MacIntyre.

The largest segment of the necessary funding has come from the federal Economic Development Administration.

CCB Inc. submitted a bid for $2,475,000 to renovate a substantial portion of the former bag mill, now vacant, and previously owned by MeadWestvaco Corp.

That money will be used to install virtually all the infrastructure needed for the former Continental Paper Bag Co. mill, which was built in 1899 as an adjunct of the paper company that sprang up in Rumford. The funds will also be used to set up a business incubator of technology-related businesses, and for classroom space to train workers in the precision metal trades. A business incubator provides less costly space for fledgling businesses by offering shared services and resources.

The building is considered of great historical significance, according to the Bethel Historical Society, because the massive brick mill is the last of its kind in the town built during the emergence of the paper-making industry. Its architecture includes tall brick pilaster strips, corbeling around the roof, and segmental-arched windows.

The RVTC, expected to be up and running sometime next year, is one of seven applied technology centers now being established with the support of the state. The RVTC focuses on manufacturing and precision metal trades. Others focus on aquaculture and marine sciences, environmental technology, composite materials, forestry and agriculture, informational technology and biotechnology.

eadams@sunjournal.com