By Daniel Hartill,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Little Canada’s arts home will close next week so workers can begin the next phase of its transformation into a modern auditorium.

On Tuesday, workers plan to put up staging needed to paint the former church’s ceiling, which rises at least 60 feet. A day later on June 1, the board of directors plans to meet and will likely award a bid for the construction of raised, theater-style seating.

The plans were given a further boost Tuesday, when leaders at the center, the Franco-American Heritage Center at St. Mary’s, learned they were awarded a federal grant of almost $100,000.

“This makes it pretty certain we can go forward with the planned changes,” said Rita Dube, the center’s executive director.

On Saturday, the building will host its last concert of the season, Mac McHale and the Old-Time Radio Gang.

Then, the center will close its doors to the public for three months, reopening in September for the start of its second performance season.

The aim is to create a venue that is comfortable for the public.

Currently, the center has 262 seats, installed on the floor of the former church and augmented by dozens of pews. The new configuration removes all the pews and adds another 191 seats. Those seats have already been purchased by the center for about $56,000.

When they’re all installed, each of the seats should have an unobstructed view of the stage.

“We’ve been told the sight lines will be perfect,” Dube said.

The new project will join millions of dollars in renovation work at the former church. For decades, St. Mary’s was the Catholic center of the Little Canada neighborhood, located beside the Androscoggin River and the once-thriving textile mills.

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, repairing the granite exterior of the Depression-era landmark.

The rest has been spent inside, where a new elevator was installed, and work was begun in the upstairs performance space. The newest grant – just one 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 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.

“We felt it was better to ask for a little less than to ask for more and maybe get nothing,” Dube said.