LEWISTON – Leaders of the Franco-American Heritage Center on Tuesday accepted a $99,999 check from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a $1 bill from its presenter, Michael Aube, the department’s state director.
The gifts will pay for new lighting and sound systems in the center’s auditorium.
“This will help us become a state-of-the-art performing arts center, perhaps one of the best in the state,” said Rita Dube, the center’s executive director.
Tuesday’s award follows months of changes at the center, highlighted by the construction of graduated seating in the center aisle of the church nave.
A grand opening gala is scheduled for Nov. 5, when the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra is scheduled to perform a benefit concert.
By then, the new lighting is expected to be installed, along with additional seats, Dube said.
The new grant joins millions of dollars for renovations at the former church. Since 2000, when the center’s leaders purchased the building from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, the group has raised more than $3 million.
About half, $1.45 million, has been spent on masonry alone, for repairs to the granite exterior of the Depression-era landmark.
The rest has been spent inside, where a new elevator was installed, and where work was begun in the upstairs performance space. The newest grant – just a dollar shy of $100,000 – is the second awarded to the center by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The odd-numbered award was all that the local leaders had requested. The USDA point system for awarding grants would have penalized the center for a request of $100,000 or more.
It won’t be the last request, either.
“Guess what? We’re coming back for more,” Dube said. During the recent rain, seven leaks were discovered in the roof.
“We were running around with buckets and rags,” she said. Thankfully, none of the leaks affected the new seating.
The expected cost of a fix: $150,000.
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