Source: Rutland Herald, September 4

By Susan Smallheer

“SPRINGFIELD — Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., brought $125,000 in federal historic preservation funds Friday that will help pay for the restoration of the Ellis Block’s historic facade.

Joined by dozens of people who had a hand in the highly-anticipated restoration project, Vermont’s senior senator said the funds would allow the downtown block to regain its historic good looks.

Friday marked the formal groundbreaking for the $3.4 million project, which is a joint effort of Housing Vermont and the Springfield Housing Authority.

Not only will the project restore some affordable housing to downtown Springfield, it will bring back the Springfield Movie Theater, which had been in almost continuous operation since The Great Depression.

“In Vermont, our downtowns are the heart of our communities,” said Leahy, who said he visited Springfield and the movie theater as a child with his parents from their home in Montpelier.

“When we lose a central part of our community, we lose more than bricks and mortar,” he said. “It’s a good day for Springfield.”

The project had already received $1.28 million in federal Neighborhood Stabilization funds, through the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, as well as state funding and state tax credits and $1.3 million in equity from Housing Vermont’s housing equity fund…”

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