NORWAY — The town transferred the deed to the Opera House to the Norway Opera House Corp. on Tuesday.
Dennis Gray and Bruce Cook, corporation members, accepted the deed from Town Manager David Holt and Town Clerk Shirley Boyce, marking a new beginning for the iconic 19th-century building on Main Street.
“It’s our responsibility now,” Gray said.
The town took ownership of the 3-story brick building by eminent domain in 2010, because it was declared a public hazard. A portion of the sagging roof collapsed under the weight of pooled water in 2007 and its owner failed to secure the damaged and weakened structure.
Although the town had never favored being the owner, it held the deed while the Norway Opera House Corp. worked out legal issues to enable them to raise enough money to renovate the first-floor storefronts. The corporation has received a $400,000 Communities for Maine’s Future Grant from the state and a loan from the Norway Savings Bank for the matching $400,000.
The grant, coupled with other tax credits and donations, will be used to renovate the six first-floor storefronts and make other improvements to protect the $1.1 million investment.
Gray said the Opera House Corp. could not take advantage of tax credits available for the project because it is a nonprofit entity, so it’s forming a limited liability corporation with the Norway Savings Bank. The bank will remain a co-owner of the Opera House for a minimum of five years, he said.
Having the deed, Gray said, means the corporation will ramp up its fundraising efforts.
The renovation work is expected to go out to bid in a couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, members of the corporation, including Cook, Brenda Melhus, Scott Berk and others, have been cleaning out the 1894 building, which anchors the National Historic District.
“It’s onward and upward,” Gray said of the venture.
The Opera House, topped with a clock tower, was built in 1894 and once served as the center for community events. Constructed by the Norway Building Association, it was owned by the town from 1920 to the mid-1970s, and by a succession of private owners for the past 30 years or so. The upper floors have been vacant for decades; the storefronts since 2007.
ldixon@sunjournal.com
-
- Town Manager David Holt, left, hands the deed to the Norway Opera House to Norway Opera House Corp. members Dennis Gray, second from right, and Bruce Cook. Town Clerk Shirley Boyce, center, registered it at the Oxford County Registry of Deeds on Tuesday afternoon.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.