LEWISTON — A state historic board has given its blessing to a historic district surrounding the Bates Mill Enterprise Complex buildings and canals that could mean big tax credits for developers.
Now, a plan to name the area between Lincoln and Canal streets and from Chestnut Street to Bates Mill No. 5 as a federal National Historic District goes to the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.
Kirk Mohney, deputy state historic preservation officer, said he expects a decision from the National Register in December.
If placed on the National Register, the district would protect historic buildings from redevelopment and makes approved projects eligible for state and federal tax incentives — up to 20 percent in tax credits from the state and 25 to 30 percent from the federal government.
Christi Mitchell, state preservationist, presented a history of the Bates complex and Lewiston to members for the state’s Historic Preservation Commission Friday morning in the Bates Mill Building No. 6.
The Bates Mill was largely responsible for developing Lewiston, she said. The mill was the first large scale textile maker to set up shop in Lewiston in the 1800s and the last to close in all of New England, she said. It was an economic magnet that drew new cultures to Maine.
“It started a boom in the textile industry that defined the city and what it was to become,” she said.
But the Bates Mill buildings are also significant architecturally. Buildings range from old style red brick mills similar to those found around New England to one of the first reinforced concrete and girder buildings ever constructed, Bates Mill Building No. 5.
“You can see the complete evolution of industrial architecture between 1850 to 1924,” she said.
To qualify as a historic district, owners of the properties must agree. Mitchell said she was approached by the Bates Mill LLC. Being in the district doesn’t stop developers from doing anything to the building unless federal money is involved.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
