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V O L . X X I V N O. X I M AY 2 8 , 2 0 1 8 16 the former W.T Grant depart- ment store at 113 Lisbon St.; and Anchour, the web design/devel- opment company, moved to 223 Lisbon St. ¡ In February, Portland developer e Szanton Co. broke ground on e Hartley Block. Replacing three historic buildings at 15-177 Lisbon St. destroyed by arson, it will provide 3 residential units and ,000 square feet of retail/res- taurant space. ¡ Parallel to Lisbon Street and a couple of blocks west, Platz Associates of Auburn continues to redevelop e Bates Mill for commercial/residential use. Old downtown In 2005, Eric and Carrie Agren bought the thousand-seat Lyceum Hall, built in 1871, at Lisbon St. After restoration for ground- fl oor commercial and upper-story residential, he opened the French bistro Fuel, followed by Marche at 0 Lisbon St. Agren, Patry and Platz Associates principal Tom Platz and are cred- ited by others as instrumental in the downtown's resurgence. Sonder & Dram's Gosselin, an Auburn native, says decades ago, locals and visitors frequented Lisbon Street: " is was a shopping center to rival anything in the Northeast at that time. People came from Camden and Boston to shop in Lewiston." e advent of shopping malls, then mill closures, ended that. e down- town grew derelict. "When I said I was moving here, most people thought I was crazy," says Rainbow Cycle's Grenier. "'Downtown Lewiston? Why do you want to go there? It's drugs and pros- titutes.' I would say that was a reality 10 or more years ago. It's not reality at all now. But we have residents who have lived here their whole lives and they won't even drive through. 'Oh, no, I avoid that. It's dangerous.'" » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E F O C U S Downtown initiatives Recent efforts to spruce up downtown Lewiston include: ¡ The city created a downtown historic district, with a significant number of buildings within the district considered contributing structures, streamlining the application process for historic tax credits. ¡ The city acquired at no cost 1.5 miles of canals, enhancing the downtown and its walkability. The seller was Brookfield Renewable. ¡ Mike Dostie, owner of J. Dostie Jewelers, is spearheading a downtown stake- holders' association to work on common issues. Still in its infancy, the group stems from a surge of downtown development in recent years and the need for guidance moving forward, says Dostie. "We're looking at everything, from beau- tification and holiday lighting to zoning and business incubator programs." To start, the group is launching a website (downtownlewiston.com) as a resource for prospective investors, residents and visitors. "Downtown has made some great strides and there is still work to be done, but we can start by highlighting our assets and reintroduce downtown Lewiston as a regional destination." P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY At 110 Lisbon St., artist Sheri Withers Hollenbeck, her husband Stan Hollenbeck and their partner Corey DuFour are turning the old Lamey Wellehan building, vacant since the 1990s, into The Curio, an art gallery, ale house and makerspace.

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