WISCASSET (BDN) — Business owners and local officials in Wiscasset are starting to lose patience with a Main Street reconstruction project that has dragged on for three years, leaving an eyesore in the center of the self-proclaimed “most beautiful village in Maine” as it prepares for another summer tourist season.
In April 2021, hundreds of bricks fell from the facade of the Wawenock Block, a historic building on Route 1 just a few doors down from the bustling Red’s Eats lobster restaurant and the Sheepscot River beyond.
No one was injured in the collapse, which was caused by deterioration of the steel ties that hold the facade together. But the renovation is not over yet, the building is covered with a tarp and scaffolding. And while its owners say they expect most of the work to finally be done by June 1, they are also in a legal dispute with their insurance company after it refused to pay for the repairs.
Local officials made their exasperation clear during a recent Select Board meeting, when Town Manager Dennis Simmons noted that there were no visible signs of progress and that “it’s time to get on with it.”
Simmons indicated he wants the town attorney to “find something,” even if it’s a littering fine, to get the Select Board to push the Wawenock project forward, as first reported by the Wiscasset Newspaper.
“They dragged this out and dragged it out,” Simmons said at the meeting. “I am so disappointed by this, as is everyone else in this room. This is ridiculous.”
In an email, Simmons said the construction is “clearly an eyesore” and likely discourages potential customers from stopping and shopping in Wiscasset. He said the city does not want to accrue any legal fees, but has passed a property maintenance ordinance and is looking into potential enforcement of that ordinance.
First built in 1858, the Wawenock Block was named for the Wawenock Band of Penobscots, who were native to the region, according to the historical marker database. Over the decades, businesses on the block included a bank, a dry goods store, a druggist and hair salons.
Mark Robinson, a spokesman for the company that owns the block, Wawenock LLC, said the delays were caused by “ongoing work behind the scenes.” In an email, he said the bricks are going up and repairs are expected to be completed soon.
Wawenock LLC sued its insurance company, Patrons Oxford Insurance, a year ago after it refused to cover more than $1 million in damages from the collapsed facade, according to a complaint filed in Lincoln County Superior Court. These damages include repair costs and loss of rental income from commercial retailers while the building is repaired.
In response to the lawsuit — also first reported by the Wiscasset Newspaper — the insurance company claims Wawenock knew for several years about the deterioration of the steel ties and refused to take action before the collapse. But Wawenock LLC says the steel ties were “hidden from view” and the collapse was unexpected.
Both companies now say they are going through arbitration to resolve the matter, but Robinson said the negotiations are not impeding repairs.
At least one local business is also growing weary of the delays.
The Wiscasset Bay Gallery, which was located on the Wawenock block before the facade collapsed, has since moved to another space next door, director and founder Keith Oehmig said. Because the large building is covered in plastic and construction materials, Oehmig said potential customers sometimes don’t even know his business is open.
When he recently participated in a pop-up event in Rockland, some former customers came up to him saying they thought the Wiscasset location had closed. Combined with the pandemic that was going on when the crash happened, Oehmig said it put a damper on the local economy.
“We’re not even really sure what’s normal anymore,” Omig said.
Wiscasset Bay Gallery has a lot of loyal customers, Oehmig said, so he’s still making a profit. But he is ready for the construction to end.
