Spindleworks artists will be feeling a little more cozy in their studios this winter, thanks to grants that will insulate and button up the historic district building before fall.
Spindleworks serves as a multi-media art studio for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Programming at Spindleworks is accomplished through the Independence Association.
Dennis St. Pierre of the Independence Association said they received a little more than $16,000 from the Maine Community Foundation for the bulk of the $30,000 raised for the project.
Independence Association applied under the Grants for Green program — a partnership between the Maine Community Foundation, Maine Development Foundation and Efficiency Maine.
The grants are available for nonprofits to undertake energy efficiency projects — particularly in historic downtown buildings that serve as cultural, civic or educational centers. St. Pierre said Spindleworks checked all those boxes.
“It’s pretty big,” St. Pierre said. “Downeast Energy year gave us $10,000 from their golf tournament that was earmarked for this. And then the Brunswick Rotary this fall raised over $2,250 for the same endeavor.”
Independence Association raised some of its own funds for the project as well.
While there is more to be done to the building in terms of efficiency, St. Pierre said the insulating is already underway and will begin in earnest in August.
“It’s a pretty cool collaborative effort to make sure our consumers are kept warm during the winter months while they’re making their art and conserve energy at the same time,” St. Pierre said.
St. Pierre said that the current state of the building is so inefficient that the $30,000 investment in insulating, as well as sealing areas of infiltration, will pay for itself in as little as seven years.
“They’re going to have to tear the siding off at times and they’re going to have to fix some things — it’ll be a big job that’ll probably take them all the way into November until they finish it,” St. Pierre said.
St. Pierre said programming at Spindleworks will not be disrupted and that the blown-in insulation will be applied in such a way that it will be of no harm to anyone.
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