HOULTON, Maine — The Maine Downtown Center is bringing its Downtown Institute to Houlton on Monday, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Courtyard Café on Main Street.
The Downtown Institute is a program of the Maine Downtown Center and provides Historic Building Basics. “MDC is partnering with Maine Preservation to bring this Downtown Institute ‘Historic Buildings, How Do I Get Started?’ to Houlton,” said Lorain Francis, senior program director for the Maine Downtown Center. “How to get started, basic tools, development, second and third floor usages along with how to use partnerships will be discussed.”
Other topics for the program will include building revitalization, basics in development, Historic Tax Credits and energy efficiency. A case study will be presented of a Maine downtown building to bring information on potential uses of local buildings.
Presenters for the program include Francis with Greg Paxton, executive director of Maine Preservation and Mike Lyne, project manager with JHR Development of Maine.
Francis is responsible for the Maine Downtown Center and serves as Maine’s state coordinator to the National Main Street Center. She has extensive background with downtowns from Chamber of Commerce experience, as a business owner and as the founding executive director and Main Street manager of Rockland Main Street, Inc.
The Maine Downtown Center (MDC) educates, advocates, connects and promotes Maine’s historic downtowns to revitalize and invigorate their community, cultural and commercial assets. Working in over 30 communities, MDC provides technical assistance in the form of Downtown Institutes and the annual Downtown Conference being held this year on May 1 in Brunswick.
Paxton is executive director of Maine Preservation, which was founded in 1972 as a statewide historic preservation organization. Its mission is to promote and preserve historic places, buildings, downtowns and neighborhoods, strengthening the cultural and economic vitality of Maine communities. He is a past trustee for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is on the Maine Downtown Center Advisory Council.
As project manager for JHR Development, Lyne is involved in acquisition, pre-development, permitting, construction, lease-up and management of JHR’s holdings in Maine. He is a member of the board of directors for GrowSmart Maine and is sitting on the Brunswick Downtown Master Plan Implementation Committee.
While the Downtown Institute is geared toward downtown businesses and building owners, all interested are welcome to attend. There is no charge for the event, but pre-registration is required for a head count for refreshments.
The Maine Downtown Center generally charges for the Downtown Institute, but thanks to generous sponsorships the Houlton program is being presented for free. The sponsors include the Town of Houlton, Southern Aroostook Development Corporation, Severson, Hand & Nelson, Northern Maine Development Commission, Houlton Water Company and the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce with WHOU FM as a media sponsor. The event is being coordinated in cooperation with Women, Work & Community and the Courtyard Café.
Tickets are available at the Houlton Town Office and the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce. Further information is available by contacting Nancy Ketch at 532-7111 or comm.development@houtlon-maine.com or Jane Torres at 532-4216 or director@greaterhoulton.com.
