This week the Buzz is taking to the air.

Melanie Therrien and other artists installed a new wing-filled mural downtown Tuesday afternoon that’s art-meets-selfie backdrop.

Therrien said she was inspired by the Mural Arts Philadelphia project and developed the idea to paint a series of wings on special fabric that’s applied to a wall. It lets the artist paint inside and take their time and lasts outdoors, after gluing in place, seven to 10 years, she said.

Therrien painted butterfly, angel and airplane wings, Corrina Tancrede painted fairy and dragonfly wings and Courtney Schlachter Luna moth wings. They are affixed to the wall so someone standing in front of them appears to be modeling the wings.

“I saw a blank wall and I couldn’t stand it, it needed something,” said Therrien, the owner of Wicked Illustrations Studio and Gallery.

She’s using #wickedwingslewiston for the project on social media and plans to add a quote from Erin Hanson: “There is freedom waiting for you on the breezes of the sky and you ask, ‘what if I fall?’ but oh my darling what if you fly?”

Carl Sheline owns the building at 120 Lisbon St., where the new mural went up. He said Therrien approached him with the idea. He paid for the materials.

“I’m always excited to see art downtown,” Sheline said.

Let’s jet

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced a $3.2 million grant Tuesday for the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport. It’s the third Federal Aviation Administration grant this year toward an upcoming $8.5 million project, Airport Director Rick Lanman said.

The FAA grants total $7.7 million. The balance is being paid for by state and local funds.

Lanman said the project includes resurfacing the large runway, reconstructing the short runway all the way to the subsurface and adding new LED lights.

Jets can land at 100 mph or faster, Lanman said. Work on the large runway “will make us a better, all-weather airport, because when we resurface it next spring, we’re going to also groove it, which allows water and whatever else to seep off and it keeps airplanes from hydroplaning.”

Work will start this fall. The entire project is forecast to be complete in fall 2020.

Taking flight in name only . . .

Bowie Properties LLC bought the 50,000-square-foot industrial building at 225 First Flight Drive in Auburn for $2.3 million last month, according to Mainebiz. It was sold by J Enterprises LLC and the deal was brokered by Kevin Fletcher of Northeast Commercial Brokers of Keller Williams Realty.

Fletcher said it was an investment purchase for Bowie Properties. Tenants in the building include the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad and Refurb Supplies.

“The buyer has been an active investor for better than a decade and owns several properties throughout the Twin Cities,” Fletcher said.

Development headed to council vote

On Monday night, the Lewiston Planning Board voted 6-1 to support a rezoning change that could pave the way for a 25-unit senior housing project at 209 Webster St.

Ryan Rhodes voted against it, according to City Planner Doug Greene.

A single-family home sits on the two-acre lot, and developer Louis Ouellette has told the city he’d like to build 24 additional housing units.

That rezoning recommendation will head next to the City Council for a vote, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 1, Greene said.

In 2017, the City Council voted down a zoning change for a larger senior housing project proposed by Ouellette in the same spot amid stiff opposition from neighbors.

Kitchen adds closet

Kaydenz Kitchen Food Pantry expanded its operating space in the Pepperell Mill by 25% to a little over 2,000 square feet, and next month it’s adding a secondhand store.

President Kevin Boilard, who runs the food pantry with wife, Kristie, and their daughter, Kayden, said sales at Kaydenz Resale Closet will act as an ongoing fundraiser.

“That will allow for us to continue growing the resources we can provide to the community,” he said. “All sales will go back into the operating expenses of Kaydenz Kitchen Food Pantry.”

The food pantry, which started last year, regularly helps more than 100 families a month, giving away more than 3,000 items, a mix of food, clothes and household goods, he said.

Families who already receive that help will also get a monthly voucher toward items in the resale store, which they hope to open by Oct. 1. A free table there is also planned.

Donations are welcome at 550 Lisbon St. for the store and the pantry, he said.

“With finances being tight for a lot of people in the community, our goal is to provide quality items at a low cost for everyone,” Boilard said.

And while we’re at it  … 

How about a few more good numbers?

Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine handed out a fact sheet at the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce breakfast earlier this month with 2018 stats from its Auburn Distribution Center.

In 2018, 2,337 people volunteered 21,088 hours of their time, inspected and sorted more than 1.7 million pounds of salvaged goods and packed more than 110,000 boxes of food for seniors.

Quick hits about business comings, goings and happenings. Have a Buzzable tip? Contact staff writer Kathryn Skelton at 689-2844 or kskelton@sunjournal.com.

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