In the November 2024 general election, Maine voters approved a $10 million grant program for the restoration of historic community buildings owned by governmental and non-profit organizations. The historic community buildings that are the focus of this grant are places that are open to the public and that support the social, educational, or cultural life of Maine people. They may include libraries, museums, educational and governmental buildings, social meeting halls, and entertainment venues. Religious spaces, fraternal halls, and the like qualify if their spaces are periodically open to and used by the general public without limitation.
The grant program will be administered by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission in accordance with 27 MRSA §505.2.D. governing the state financed preservation and restoration of historic properties, as well as the adopted rules in 94-089 Ch. 811. Funds will be awarded in three grant rounds beginning in the fall. The total amount to be awarded, as well as the minimum and maximum size of each award will vary in each round.
“The Commission is excited to be offering this opportunity for communities to work on those historic buildings that have been for generations the sole gathering places in small town or villages or are the artistic or cultural hearts of a region,” said Christi Chapman-Mitchell, assistant director of the Commission. “Maine has a wealth of grange halls, town halls, small theaters, local libraries, museums and social halls that can benefit from this grant program.”
Additional requirements of the program include but are not limited to the following:
Grant funds are available for “shovel ready” construction projects only, not for planning, research, or assessment projects, or for producing plans and specifications /bid documents.
Eligible buildings must be listed in the National Register of Historic Places or have been nominated to the Register by the Commission.
A 25 percent local matching share from either private or nonprofit sources will be required. The matching share may not come from governmental sources.
Eligible applicants include non-profit corporations as defined in 13-B MRSA §102.9., as well as units of state, municipal, and local governments.
All work must be consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties: Preservation or Restoration.
With some exceptions, the grant-funded work must be carried out in accordance with plans and specifications /bid documents prepared by a licensed architect or engineer. These plans and specifications/bid documents will have to be submitted with the application materials, so this is a good time to make sure you have these documents on hand, or to make arrangements to generate them before you intend to apply.
A preservation easement whose term varies by the amount of the grant award will be placed on the property and will be held by the Commission.
Tentative opening dates for applications: Aug. 1, Jan. 15, 2026, and Aug. 1, 2026.
Information about the grant program including application deadlines will be posted on the Commission’s website at https://www.maine.gov/mhpc/programs/grants More details will be released this spring.
