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Fate of Historic Building at Issue

April 03, 2011 - Limerick- More than 140 years ago, lawyer Luther Moore built a law office on Limerick's Main Street that now is owned by the town and occupied by the Limerick Historical Society.


The building is also located next door to the local branch of the Sanford Institution for Savings. But that could soon change.


The bank wants to move the building in order to improve traffic flow and parking. The proposal is scheduled to come before the Board of Selectmen on Wednesday, March 30, at 7 p.m. at the Municipal Building on Washington Street.
Although the bank wants to preserve and move the building, not tear it down, several residents, including Eleanor Watson, a member of the historical society, are questioning the proposal and worry about moving the building off Main Street.


According to Watson, the Moore Building is on the National Register of Historic Places, along with the entirety of Main Street from the two cemeteries at the top of the hill on Route 5 down to the old bandstand on the corner of routes 5 and 160.


Watson said she's upset about the idea of moving the building from what she deems its "proper place." She wants more specifics from the bank on exactly what it is proposing to do and where the building would be moved if the selectmen agree to the plan.


"I think it's wrong and a shame to move this building," Watson said this week. "It was originally used as a law office in the 1800s and then as the Limerick Library and now the historical society."


According to Earle G. Shettleworth, director of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, removing the Moore Building from Main Street would be like "removing your front teeth."


"Our preference would be for the bank not to move it," Shettleworth said. "Each building in a tightly woven historic district, such Limerick's, makes a contribution to the visual and historic value of the district."


However, he said, the preservation commission has no jurisdiction in the matter because there is no change in property rights when an individual building or district is listed on the historic register.


Shettleworth said the only thing the preservation commission can do is to make it clear that it would be better not to break up the original configuration of buildings in Limerick's downtown.


Mark Mickeriz, president of Sanford Institution for Savings, said the plan would be to move the Moore Building either to the back of the bank's lot or next door to the Municipal Building.


He said it would be a distance of about 150 feet or less if the building were moved to the back of the bank's lot. Mickeriz said the reason the bank wants to move the building is to provide easier and safer access to the bank from Main Street and to improve the parking for customers.


"All we're trying to do is make improvements to make getting to the bank better," Mickeriz said.


He said the bank approached the selectmen several years ago with a similar proposal, but dropped it after concluding the amount of traffic accessing the bank from Main Street did not necessitate removing the Moore Building.


Now, however, Mickeriz said the bank is looking at renovating its own historic building, which was erected in 1881 by Jeremiah Mason, and as part of that renovation project it would like to move the Moore Building to a different location.
However, he said if the amount of money needed to renovate the bank branch is too costly, Sanford Institution for Savings might move to a different building in town, which would mean there would be no need to move the Moore Building.
Calls to selectmen and historical society president Sandra Bradford seeking comment were not returned before deadline.


Ideally, Mickeriz said, the bank would like to get the go-ahead from the town to move the building before deciding on its final renovation plans, since that would have a significant impact on the overall cost of the project.


"We would pay all the expenses for moving the building, laying a new foundation and reconnecting it to utilities, such as water," he said.

Kate Irish Collins, The Reporter, March 2011


Lakes:
Regions: Sanford


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