NORWAY – The economic future of Norway lies in its downtown, according to state preservationists.

“The beauty of this community is its greatest asset,” said Greg Paxton, executive director of Maine Preservation.

Paxton and Kirk Mohney, assistant director of the Maine State Historic Preservation Commission, spoke to a standing-room-only crowd of residents at the Norway Grange Hall on Thursday about the historic downtown district.

“Build that brand,” said Paxton of the need to revitalize the downtown area and fill “dead zones” such as the Opera House with retail stores and housing. “Build a downtown brand.”

Mohney called the downtown historic district “very impressive,” and said the variety and integrity of it is significant.

It was rebuilt after an 1894 fire wiped out a sizable part of it.

“The striking character of Norway is dominated by the character of its buildings,” said Mohney, who added that careful planning must be done to make sure the buildings continue to distinguish Norway from other towns.

Paxton and Mohney said there are a variety of ways to do this including taking advantage of historic preservation tax incentives, looking at expanding single-family housing downtown and creating a design review board.

Both historic preservationists pointed to the enormous economic benefits of historic preservation. Mohney said new and previous state and federal tax credits for historic renovations can bring a building owner as much as 45 percent in tax credits. The new 25 percent state historic preservation credit is geared in part toward small projects that will attract investment in downtown buildings.

“It’s an exciting new program. We really want to see this assistance at the local level,” Mohney said.

Paxton said historic preservation is on average cheaper than building new, and a key catalysis to community revitalization.

With the prices of fuel and other energy costs sky-rocketing, Paxton said opening up businesses in the downtown is even more important.

Paxton referred to the 2006 Brookings institution report, which stated that towns must invest in new initiatives, streamline government at all levels and revitalize towns and cities to create a quality of place. Maine has it, he said, and people travel from all over to the state to get it.

“You already have the resources here to change the way people see Norway,” Paxton said. “They are your legacy. They are yours to keep.”

The presentation was the first of three community meetings to be held by Norway Downtown, the town of Norway, the Norway Historical Society and Norway Memorial Library. The next two meetings will focus on what historic resources the town should concentrate on and create a strategy to do it.