NORWAY — The Opera House eminent domain trial will be held March 31 and April 1 in Oxford County Superior Court in Paris.

A judge will decide what the town must pay Barry Mazzaglia of Londonderry, N.H., for taking the Main Street landmark last year after it was declared a public hazard. That amount is generally based on an appraisal, but could be much higher or lower.

While the town prepares to defend its takeover of the historic three-story brick edifice, Holt reported to selectmen Thursday night that substantial progress has been made on stabilizing the back wall and cleaning up environmental hazards within the building.

Holt said work by Chabot Construction of Greene to stabilize the south wall is about completed and within a few weeks their work will be done.

“I’m very happy with the project,” he said. “I’m not going to worry about the Opera House collapsing from snow this year. It’s just an awful lot more secure than it’s been in a long time.”

The town went to court to gain control of the damaged and unstable structure, nearly three years after part of the sagging roof collapsed under the weight of pooled water. Water cascaded through all three floors and attempts by Mazzaglia to stabilize the 1894 building failed, engineers advised.

The Opera House, which is topped by a brick clock tower, is in the heart of the downtown business district.

The town and Mazzaglia have failed to agree on how much the building is worth. Last September, Mazzaglia had it appraised at $328,000. He rejected the town’s $185,000 appraisal and offer.

According to a Jan. 4 letter from attorney James Belleau of the Auburn firm of Skelton Taintor & Abbott, five witnesses are expected to be called. His letter was addressed to five people: Patricia Amidon of Amidon Appraisal Co. in Portland, who did the building appraisal for the town; Alfred Hodson III, of Resurgence Engineering and Preservation Inc. of Portland, the project engineer; Mark Coleman of Environmental Safety and Hygiene Associates Inc. of West brook, who conducted an environmental review of the building; Norway Code Enforcement Officer Jeffery Van Decker; and Norway Town Manager David Holt.

According to court documents, Bitim Enterprises, which is owned by Mazzaglia, is expected to call at least three witnesses. They include: Mazzaglia, who will testify in part about the limited amount of repair needed to make the first floor of the Opera House rentable; Douglas Beal, owner of R & D Services, a contractor who was hired to evaluate the needed repairs; and Chet Rogers of Hollis, who appraised the property for Mazzaglia.

Mazzaglia, a developer, bought the Opera House for $225,000 in 2003 after it was placed on the state’s Most Endangered Historic Properties list by Maine Preservation of Portland. The upper floors have been vacant for decades; the first floor storefronts since the roof collapsed in 2007.

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