The following is an article from Mainebiz posted on January 18, 2023, by Peter Van Allen
Lewiston has several projects in the works, adding housing and a new cultural attraction.
With the new year in full swing, Lewiston-based Hebert Construction celebrates its 80th anniversary by taking on two new projects in its hometown.
Hebert is working on the restoration of Picker House, a 72-unit housing project at the site of the former Continental Mill. Szanton Co. is the developer.
The firm is also working with client Avesta Housing on the development of the Choice Wedgewood Block project within the Tree Street neighborhood. The plan calls for eight new multifamily structures and the restoration of a structure at 111 Pine St. Avesta plans 74 affordable and market-rate apartments. The property is being developed by Avesta and will be owned and managed by the Lewiston Housing Authority.
Hebert Construction, which started as a small carpentry concern in Lewiston, was launched by Ed Hebert in 1943. It is now a multi-generational, family-owned business. His sons, Richard and Dan Hebert, later became part of the team. Now the company is owned by Richard’s son Michael Hebert, who is also president, and Dan’s son Tim Hebert, who is CEO. Simon Hebert, son of Michael, is COO.
Hebert Construction ranks No. 15 among the largest Maine-based construction companies, according to the recent Mainebiz Book of Lists, with 2021 revenues of $30 million and 60 employees.
Museum L-A gets a boost
In Lewiston, Museum L-A received a key boost with a matching grant of $500,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Rachel Ferrante, the executive director, says the money will go toward the museum’s $17 million capital campaign.
The museum has its sights on a larger, permanent home, she told Mainebiz.
“The museum already owns the former Camden Yarns building on the Lewiston riverfront outright,” she said. “The funds will be used to renovate that existing space and build an addition.”
The museum will be dedicated to the labor and cultural history of Androscoggin County. The Camden Yarns mill is at 1 Beech St. in Lewiston.
So far, the museum has raised $6 million, with the capital campaign in full swing going into 2023, Ferrante said, adding that “there are lower thresholds at which we could phase the project and begin construction.”
The Museum L-A funding was one of two real estate-related grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.
In Eastport, the NEH provided a matching grant of $400,000 for the renovation of the historic Masonic Lodge, led by Hugh French. The space will be used for exhibitions, programs and collections storage for the Tides Institute and Museum of Art, dedicated to the history and arts of northeastern Maine.
Thornton Tomasetti hire
Kristina Rogers has been brought on as a senior associate in Thornton Tomasetti’s Portland office. Her goal will be to help expand the firm’s mass timber capabilities. She has an extensive background in mass timber design and analysis and embodied carbon reduction strategies. Working with the firm’s structural engineering and sustainability practices, she will provide technical support for mass timber projects from the concept phase through construction. She was most recently at Fast + Epp in New York City, where she led the sustainability and digital design technical groups. She has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Vermont honors college and is a licensed professional engineer in New York.