Elm Terrace, Portland

The Children’s Hospital, designed by Maine architect Frederick A. Tompson complimented many of the neighborhood mansions in its Colonial Revival Style.

It was constructed in 1909 in connection to the 1801 Mussey Mansion which was also occupied by the hospital. The Children’s Hospital provided free care to patients who could not afford treatment until 1948.

In 1962, the building was sold to the University of Maine and the Mussey Mansion was demolished. After the University vacated the building in 2010, it remained unoccupied.

The rehabilitation of the property by Community Housing of Maine included the significant challenges of the considerable expense of providing on-site parking and constructing a large new addition within a National Register and local historic district. To accomplish both, the addition’s design was based on the Federal-style Mussey Mansion.

Within the 1909 hospital building, the challenges of meeting life safety & energy efficiency standards were accomplished though careful detailing which minimizes visibility of added insulation and MEP systems. Original windows in the most visible elevations were retained and rehabilitated. The project received Federal and State historic tax credits and the building was certified LEED Platinum.

The result is a project that created a total of 35 housing units and constructing a large addition that is cohesive with neighborhood history. Maine Preservation is pleased to present a 2013 Honor Award for the adaptive use of Elm Terrace.

Kennebunk High School (Park Street School), Kennebunk

Park Street School, designed by the Boston architectural firm of Hutchins and French in the Colonial Revival style, was completed in 1922. It operated as a high school until 1939 and an elementary school until 2006.

The school closed in 2006 and remained vacant. The property became overgrown and hardly visible from the street.

Avesta housing saw an opportunity to provide much needed affordable housing in the neighborhood. Their rehabilitation project focused on the retention of the significant brick building facing Park Street while recent rear additions were replaced with a compatible modern addition.

The most significant interior spaces remain intact and recognizable to former students, while the classrooms have been made into apartments. All corridors were retained and the two-story gymnasium at the core of the building was utilized for community space.

Original wooden windows were retained on the prominent elevations and wooden pilasters were replicated. Trees planted too close to the building were removed and disease-resistant elms replanted along the street, as shown in historic photos.

Avesta and its team were able to create 30 affordable elderly housing units while maintaining significant architectural features of the former school. Maine Preservation is pleased to present a 2013 Honor Award for the adaptive use of Kennebunk High School.