Community college building a study in preservation
PARIS – The walls, posts and beams and roof of the old county fair exposition hall were structurally sound, and the land was free. The location, next to Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, couldn’t have been more perfect.
Instead of tearing down and starting over, planners of the new Western Maine University and College Center opted to preserve as much of the original structure as possible.
The result is a modern community college facility with a strong sense of history. Wherever possible, the wooden beams and other original elements have been visibly blended within the hallways, classroom, offices and meeting rooms of the new center, which is a partnership of the University of Maine, Central Maine Technical College and the Norway Career Center.
“We thought, here’s this great old building. Why not do it?” said Lori Allen, community development director of the Growth Council of Oxford Hills.
To make it even more special, the building committee hired Rick Renner of Portland, an architect who specializes in historic preservation renovation projects.
It took nearly $2 million in state bond money and grants to do the renovation, and even then the budget was very tight, Renner said Monday.
But the result was worth it, he said.
“The vision was to preserve the strong sense of community and places that I think are important to a community,” Renner said.
Plans are to submit the project for consideration of special recognition by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Renner said.
“We’re very pleased” with how the project came out, Renner said. “In my opinion it was well worth it.”
Renner also added that from an environmental point of view, “It’s more responsible” to save usable parts of a building. On the stair railings leading from the first to the second floor, wood was used that would have otherwise been thrown out. The original roof structure needed to be reinforced, but it was able to be preserved, he said.
Nowhere else in the 13,000-square-foot building is the past more evident than in the second floor meeting space, where the original eight-sided beams dominate the space. The beams still show the scraps of old advertisements and newsprint that were pasted on many years ago. High up on the inside wall are some of the original multi-pane windows – one of which has a pane missing.
“It’s a facility that’s going to serve the community, and it’s going to provide services that are needed,” Renner said. “That is important to us.”
The project began with a feasibility study in March 2001 by Scott Simons Architects of Portland. The general contractor is NorCouer Construction Co. Inc. of Westbrook. A grand opening is planned for early May.
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