Opera House storefronts will be ready by fall

NORWAY — Five newly renovated retail spaces on the first floor of the historic Norway Opera House on Main Street will be ready to rent by November 1, say Norway Opera House Corporation (NOHC) board members.

NOHC is the non-profit behind the renovation. 

Scott Berk, a NOHC board member and owner of Café Nomad, also on Main Street, thinks the fact that the project is actually moving forward after years of hard work is "thrilling."

"It's been listed as one of the more important historic buildings in Maine; it's been in serious disrepair for a lot of years, so this is a pretty exciting thing," Berk says.

"The plans are done, the architect is ready to go. We're going to put this out to bid and this is going to actually happen. For Main Street, this is huge."

NOHC will award a bid to complete the interior renovations within the next three weeks. Four companies have have been pre-approved for the contract.

According to NOHC President Dennis Gray, the project needs to be completed by October for the group to include the renovation cost in the federal and state tax credits the building receives.

Under the plan, the first floor and basement will be remodeled and made energy-efficient, and the building's plumbing and wiring will be brought up to code.

The building will also be made handicap accessible.

"The building's over 100 years old, but it's going to be brought up to code in every respect," says Bruce Cook, another board member.

Although the interior will be modernized, it will retain its historic character and make use of the building's original materials including the floorboards and tin ceilings.

According to a floor plan by Lachman Architects, the first floor of the Opera House will have five retail units measuring between 440 square feet and 1213 square feet.

The unit on the south end of the building, that fills the space of the old Colonial Coffee Shop, is being specifically configured for restaurant use.

The other four units will be open for any retailers.

Gray says that NOHC will need to fill at least two of the spaces in order to cover the costs of running and maintaining the building.

Although NOHC did not want to say how much the units would be rented for, Berk said that the rental cost would align to local market values.

"It'll be a fair market rate for the area. We're not going to charge a premium," he said.

NOHC is in the early stages of a business recruitment process, and members say they are specifically looking for businesses that will sign longer-term leases.

"We're looking for what we think are sustainable businesses that we can rely on to be around well into the future," says Gray.

Businesses on Norway's Main Street have been known to have brief lifespans, and the NOHC members want to address this pattern by filling the available Opera House spaces.

"What we aren't interested in is a business coming in, opening up and shutting down in three months," says Berk.

According to Berk, the group has had several businesses informally express interest in renting space in the Opera House, but Berk says it is too early to say if they will carry through.

"There's a big step between expressing interest and signing a lease," he says.  "Maybe lots of big steps."

The cost of the renovation will near $1.1 million; but Berk says that the expenditure is worth it.

"We're doing this right," he says. "We're not going to do it on the cheap; we're not trying to cut any corners. This is going to be ... done right the first time."

The project is being funded through a $400,000 grant from Communities for Maine's Future – the highest grant amount possible – as well as a loan from Norway Savings Bank, that also contributed funds to the project.

NOHC still needs to raise $180,000 to fill the gap in funding says Gray, although this will not derail the restoration.

NOHC encourages people to donate to the group, even in very small amounts. Berk says that there is broad base of support in the community, so that even with $5-$10 donations, the funding gap could be addressed.

Plans for rehabilitating the large performance space on the second floor of the building are still a long way off, but Gray says that the current renovations are a big step towards that goal.

"If we can't do the first floor, we'll never be able to do the second floor, so completing this first floor project is key."

Photo:

THE PLAN — The architect's rendering of the new storefronts that will be available in the Norway Opera House come November.