(Biddeford, ME) – Wright-Ryan Construction has been awarded the 2011 Maine Preservation Honor Award for Excellence in Rehabilitation for the restoration work at the Mill at Saco Falls in Biddeford, Maine.

Wright-Ryan was commissioned with renovating the historic mill building into mixed income housing. Wright-Ryan was sensitive to preserving historic features while modernizing for energy efficiency and usefulness. The project included replacing over 500 windows with historically accurate, but energy efficient, replacements, re-pointing of the exterior brick façade, and 25 solar panels to preheat domestic hot water.

Formerly known as Laconia Mill No. 1, the mill opened in 1845 as the first cotton mill in Biddeford helping to spur the revitalization of the local community. As the second oldest structure still standing in the surrounding Historic District on the National Register, it was important to the community to save the building and its history.

The Mill at Saco Falls is part of a large revitalization effort in Biddeford. At the heart of the historic district it is surrounded by shops, restaurants, café’s, the library and the city theater all within a two block walking distance. The Mill sits on the RiverWalk, an urban walkway planned to flow along the river and throughout the historic mill district.