Complementing revitalization within downtown Waterville’s Main Street corridor, Central Maine Growth Council (CMGC) has announced the successful grantees of its Façade and Building Improvement Grant Program (FBIGP).

The grant program, funded by Colby College and the Bill and Joan Alfond Foundation, provides a reimbursement of up to 50 percent of the total estimated project budget of up to $10,000. Eligible projects range from new awnings and signage to brick repointing and the creation of murals.

“Selah Tea prides itself on providing our customers with the best organic coffees, teas, and yummy food in addition to comfortable and welcoming spaces for conversation and community building,” states Selah Tea Café owner Bobby McGee. “Funding secured through the Façade and Building Improvement program will allow the café to invest in our main entrance to create a more attractive and welcoming entryway to our business; we look forward to our continued growth in Waterville in conjunction with Main Street’s continued development.”

The program was established in 2019 to broaden engagement in Waterville’s ongoing revitalization, activated by over $200 million in recent investment by private and public sector supporters. With the Façade and Building Improvement initiative now in its fourth year of deployment, the grant program encourages new and existing downtown property owners and businesses to invest in their commercial storefronts while restoring the original character of historic buildings. CMGC has deployed 36 grants totaling $175,950 since the program’s launch in 2019, supporting and stimulating more than $2.25 million in direct investment in less than three years.

“From business and downtown revitalization to historical façade restoration, we have been thrilled with the quality of past applications and look forward to another round of impactful downtown projects,” states Garvan D. Donegan, director of planning, innovation, and economic development at Central Maine Growth Council. “Coming at a time of new traffic patterns, elongated sidewalks and pedestrian improvements, increased redevelopment activity, and significant downtown investment, the façade program continues to support the community in building off the downtown’s continued momentum while encouraging business and property owners to expand and grow new downtown initiatives, incentivize landlords to beautify and improve their buildings and streetscapes, and preserve our historic downtown district while fostering the conditions for small business creation, retention, and recruitment.”

This year, the grant awards made through the façade program will stimulate more than $150,000 in direct investment in downtown storefronts and façades during the 2023 calendar year. 15 applications were submitted, and 10 were awarded.

Successful grantees of the 2022-23 FBIGP award include:

177 Main Street – Selah Tea Cafe, LLC.
147 Main Street – Soul Revival Yoga
129 Main Street – 129 Gudis, LLC.
90-100 Main Street/65-67 East Concourse – Sidney H. Geller Trust, LLC.
80-88 Main Street/55 East Concourse – Waterville Investment Properties, LLC.
74 Main Street – Lion’s Den Tavern
70 Main Street – Holy Cannoli
46 Main Street – The Framemakers
42-44 Main Street – Focus LLC.
5 Silver Street – Hinge Collaborative

To learn more about FBIGP, please visit www.centralmaine.org/facade.

Waterville Mom writes book redefining the term ‘Special Needs’

by Gillian Lalime

When asked about parenting, Lisa Lichterfeld, author of My Name is Kwayah, a children’s book about her daughter, starts with some self-analysis.

“I was the youngest of five. They say the youngest children tend to be more Bohemian. Some might even describe them as reckless and irresponsible. I tended to part ways with many conventions, and one could say there were more than a few misadventures in those departures. This resulted in two children born out of wedlock with different fathers, who chose not to participate in their children’s lives. When it became clear that my youngest had Down Syndrome, it felt like a judgment against me for all the poor choices I had made. Being a mother was the most important role in my life, and I felt a lot of guilt for the suboptimal conditions with which I had brought my son and daughter into the world.”

At the time of Kwayah’s birth and diagnosis, Lisa did not have any personal relationship with someone with Down Syndrome. Her learning curve took the form of an overwhelming amount of information explaining some frightening and unattractive qualities of the condition. “When you first find out, you are assailed with all of the possibilities of ailments your child is going to have: predisposition to hypothyroidism, speech difficulties, heart conditions, developmental delays, and more. This can be quite disheartening,” says Lisa. If you look up Down Syndrome, a majority of resources list challenges associated with the diagnosis.

However, when Kwayah was a year old something magical happened. A friend sent Lisa the book Expecting Adam, by Martha Beck, which is the true story of a spiritual awakening that takes place for a woman who is pregnant and finds out she is having a child with Down Syndrome. At the time Lisa finished reading the book, her daughter Kwayah started pointing at everything with the three fingers that sign “I love you” in American Sign Language. She had never been taught any sign language, but for the next year Kwayah’s hand identified everything around her with “I love you”. This marked the opening of Lisa’s eyes. She says, “Despite all of my failings, God had dropped a love bomb into my lap. From that point on, the blessings could no longer be disguised by whatever challenges appeared.”

When Kwayah turned 15, Lisa realized her daughter didn’t have any association with the words “Down Syndrome”. She thought it might be important for Kwayah to understand that she was born with this condition and know how it affects her. Lisa searched for books to see if there was anything that could aid the process of explaining Down Syndrome at a level Kwayah would be able to understand and relate to. Coming away from that search empty-handed, Lisa decided to write the book herself!

Part of Lisa’s process was to examine each quality that is different or would ordinarily fall into the category of deficit and ask: What is the strength or gift of this experience? Filled with family photos and colorful graphics, My Name is Kwayah is a children’s book that redefines the term “special needs” in a beautiful and thoughtful way. While the book is very specific to Kwayah, it explains that this condition is also called Trisomy 21, and the physical manifestations of it are related to the genetic variation of having a third 21st chromosome.

Before the book, Kwayah didn’t have any association with the words ‘Down Syndrome’. Now, she will sometimes quote directly from the book when talking to others! This book is written for anyone who would be positively impacted by a different vision of what Down Syndrome looks like, especially for families, teachers, and employers of someone living with Trisomy 21. It would be wonderful to have My Name is Kwayah in hospitals or at birthing centers, as a resource for birth workers caring for someone who perhaps unexpectedly has a baby with Trisomy 21, as was Lisa’s experience.

For this mother, there are two very important understandings.

First: Guilt gets in the way of seeing clearly.
Second: If you wear the glasses of “everything is coming together for my good”, you will always be looking for the good, and chances are you’ll find it!

It was through shifting her own perspective of Kwayah’s diagnosis that Lisa was able to embrace the gift she has been given by having a daughter born with special needs and special talents. This March marks the book’s one-year anniversary and celebrates World Down Syndrome Day, which falls annually on March 21. My Name is Kwayah can be found on Amazon or read at the Waterville Public Library.