3/18/2009 - By TOM BELL, Staff Writer for Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram March 18, 2009

PORTLAND — Port City Music Hall plans to build a theater marquee this spring, the first of seven projects to go forward under a city program that provides matching funds for Congress Street businesses that improve their facades and signs.

In all, $85,500 in federal funds will be spent on projects this year, ranging from $1,000 for a new sign at a sushi restaurant to $21,600 for the restoration of a storefront at 28 Monument Square.

It's the first time the city has used federal Community Development Block Grant funding for an economic development project. In the past, the city has used the funds for infrastructure projects such as new sidewalks, and anti-poverty programs such as helping the homeless.
The goal is to reduce vacancies in storefronts and upper floors and draw more workers and shoppers to the city's Arts District, said Nelle Hanig, who works with businesses for the city's economic development division.
"We thought downtown is the place to start because downtown is everyone's neighborhood," she said.
Most of the projects are located on Congress Street between State and High streets, which Hanig described as the "most challenging" section of the downtown corridor.

On Monday, the City Council established a historic district on Congress Street, allowing property owners to access state and federal tax credits to improve their buildings. The city's facade program is a separate initiative that is not affected by the council's decision, although city officials believe the grant program complements the historic district.

The grant provides a dollar-for-dollar match with private investment, Hanig said. The projects were chosen by a city committee that reviewed the applications. The projects to be funded include:

• $21,600 to restore the storefront at 28 Monument Square, known as the Public Market House.
• $18,000 for a new marquee and facade improvements at Port City Music Hall, 504 Congress St.
• $18,000 to renovate the facade of 675 Congress St., at the intersection with State Street.
• $10,800 to improve the facade of the building at 602 Congress St., at the intersection with High Street.
• $9,000 to renovate the facade and reconfigure the doors and windows at 620 Congress St., occupied by Coffee By Design.
• $5,300 for awnings at the State Theatre building, 609 Congress St.
• $1,000 for a new sign at King of the Roll, a sushi restaurant at 675 Congress St.

Rob Evon, owner of Port City Music Hall, which opened in January, said he could not have afforded to build a new marquee without the city grant.

In addition to the marquee, Evon plans to remove vestibules in the facade and bring the building entrances closer to the sidewalks. He said people have been sleeping and urinating in the vestibules.

The marquee will shelter people waiting to buy tickets from the box office and will support an electronic message board that will advertise events, Evon said. The marquee, a contemporary interpretation of a traditional theater marquee, will be made with colored aluminum tubing and a canvas canopy. Rope lighting along the tubing and the upper part of the building will brighten up the sidewalk, said John Whipple, the project architect. Whipple said he was pleased that the city's historic preservation staff approved the modern design.

Alan Mooney, owner of 28 Monument Square, said he wants to restore his building's facade to recapture the "essence" of what the building looked like in the late 19th century. The building's original street-level facade was remodeled extensively in 1958 when the Surplus Store moved in.
"We want to get rid of the tacky storefront from the surplus store, done in the 1950s, and get back to the late 1800s," he said.

Staff Writer Tom Bell can be contacted at 791-6369 or at:
tbell@pressherald.com
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