Officials aim for early 2025 opening in former Biddeford church
BIDDEFORD, Maine – For 101 years, the massive red brick structure on Bacon Street near this city’s downtown was the center of its community – and soon will be again.
Reborn as My Place Teen Center, the former house of worship known as St. Andre Church for 10 decades, will nurture young people from Biddeford and beyond.
People from the area and across York County came to see and celebrate with an open house on Monday, Dec. 9. With all but a couple of tasks left to accomplish, My Place Teen Center President and CEO Donna Dwyer said she and the center board of directors hope to open the facility to young people early in the new year.
And while often those who will attend are dealing with traumatic circumstances, “any kid, 10-18 is welcome to come here,” said Dwyer.
My Place Teen Center at 75 Bacon Street will offer a leadership academy, mentoring, homework help, life skills like money management, work preparedness, a daily meal, and more in a supportive, caring atmosphere. It is the second location for MPTC – the first, in Westbrook, has been operating for about 25 years. Center literature puts it this way: “With steely resolve and a passion for grit and accountability, we keep kids safe, fed, loved, and (they’re) shown a different path.”
Many people attended the open house, some who had ties to St. Andre’s, which closed following a final mass on Jan. 1, 2011. It had been part of the community since opening its doors in 1910, after 11 years of construction.
“My husband (Ben) and I got married here 68 years ago,” said Stella Forcier, who graduated from St. Andre High School and went on to direct the school’s food service program for many years. “I’m very pleased,” she said, looking around. “Something good will come out of it.”
Biddeford City Councilor Roger Beaupre said he was a parishioner at St. Andre. “I’m glad it’s going to be a teen center,” he said.
“It’s incredible,” said Rep. Marc Malon. “This is such a deeply rooted part of the Biddeford community.”
“It’s a big deal for northern York County,” said Al Sicard, a member of the MPTC Board of Directors and a former York County Commissioner.
“We are blessed to have My Place Teen Center and Apex Youth Connection,” said Biddeford Mayor Marty Grohman. “Our students have so many opportunities to learn and grow.”
Dwyer said MPTC expects to serve 100 kids after school each day, 500 a year, and serve 10,000 meals annually, free.
What did it take to transform an old church building, vacant for 14 years, into a teen center?
Supporters say it took determination, a community of those skilled in electrical work, plumbing, masonry, carpentry, painters, and others to create a center where young people can thrive.
And to do all that – repairing the building that had been vacant for so long – took a pile of money. In all, the estimated renovations cost about $3.7 million, MPTC officials estimated.
The project received a significant boost on Oct. 6, 2021, through the unanimous vote of York County Commissioners to invest $1.5 million of the county’s allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds to help improve the lives of young people. About $1 million came through in-kind contributions from contractors and suppliers. The rest came from an array of generous donors.
“It is the best investment we made in a long time,” excepting the county’s new recovery center and training center projects now underway, said York County Commission Chair Richard Dutremble.
“I’m delighted to see it,” said Commissioner Richard Clark. “I think they’ve done themselves proud.”
MPTC welcomes donations earmarked for programming.
Discussions about bringing MPTC to Biddeford began in 2017. In November 2019 folks were invited to meet at the church, owned since 2014 by Biddeford Housing Authority, to hear more. Covid arrived a few months later, slowing the process and the fundraising that would be necessary to repair the old building.
“The fact York County Commissioners took a chance on us and gave us such a generous donation is a testament to relationship building,” said Dwyer. “They didn’t know any of us prior to our knocking on their door, but they took the time to learn and recognized our passion; they are the reason this project took off.”
Jim Godbout, whose roots are in Biddeford, agreed to be the in-kind general contractor. He is known as someone who gives back. When he went looking for folks to help, they did.
Dwyer noted Godbout assembled a group of like-minded people – and the work they all did, from the basement to the 56 foot high domed ceiling, as well as the exterior, gave a bright new life to the structure, while preserving the gleaming woodwork, the rosette-studded ceilings, original light fixtures and so much more.
“Jim was 100 percent the life force as to how this church got renovated,” said Dwyer.
“It was a big job, to say the least,” said Godbout. “The whole east side of the building was falling away,” he said. All three steeples were leaking, he said, part of the roof was falling in, and the windows were rotten.
There were vast numbers of pigeons and a falcon inside - and mounds of bird droppings.
But it all came together, and it is, quite simply, beautiful.
The building, which had been heated during its heyday with vast quantities of fuel oil, now sports high efficiency heat pumps and natural gas boilers. The handful of pews left in the building were crafted into tables and benches. It is user friendly, with colorful, comfortable seating and a kid-friendly vibe, a living wall of healthy, green plants and a commercial kitchen.
Soon, it will be full of kids.
“This is a story of resurrection and new life,” said Tim Higgins, chair of the MPTC Board of Directors. “Lives will not only be changed here, they will be saved here.”
