An architectural rendering of the façade of the Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor that is expected to open in 2026 in the old Camden Yarns Mill in Lewiston. Submitted photo

LEWISTON — More than 15 years after the idea first arose, the transformation of a deserted, rather forlorn old mill into a sparkling $14 million centerpiece for the community’s culture and history is underway.

“We’re doing the early enabling work,” Rachel Ferrante, the executive director of the Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor, said Thursday. In other words, crews are cleaning and stabilizing the building so the real construction can get started in about six weeks.

Plans call for transforming the 14,000-square-foot remnant of the once-mighty Camden Yarns Mill in time to open in the summer of 2026. It will also include a new addition that adds about 50% more space to the museum.

The new addition includes a Bates Mill bedspread design made with rivets that will include lighting so it can be seen at night, she said.

Ferrante said a groundbreaking ceremony will likely take place in January or February.

The new facility for the Maine MILL “will provide a better visitor experience” once it’s finished, she said, and offer those who come “a clearer understanding” of the museum’s mission.

Plus, Ferrante said, it will be “a beautiful example of yet another way to redevelop a mill” into what she said will become “an iconic attraction” for Lewiston.

The museum first indicated an interest in moving its operations to the old mill in 2008. It purchased the 1 Beech St. property for $300,000 a year later.

In the years since, museum officials have focused on raising money and making plans. Ferrante they’ve raised “a significant portion” of what they need but are still looking for contributions.

Camden Yarns, established in 1864, was one of the first cotton mills in Lewiston. Most of its buildings were destroyed by a fire in 1945, but the remnants of the mill have long been eyed for potential redevelopment.

The new museum will have classroom space, a children’s area, a design lab, offices and both temporary and permanent galleries, Ferrante said.

“It puts everything we need in one space” that will offer the public “a seamless experience,” she said.