RUMFORD – Jean and Arthur Muse want to be part of Rumford’s revitalization and renaissance.
And to do this, they purchased one of the town’s most historic buildings: Hotel Harris, the 1906 beaux-arts structure at Congress and Hartford streets.
“The Muse families are humbled to have this great building,” said Jean Muse on Friday as she and her husband, Arthur, directed a variety of service people to their respective jobs.
The Muses, who live in Rumford, and their son and his wife, Aaron and Heidi Muse, of Windham, completed the sale from John Roza of California on Oct. 3.
“We look at the hotel as a huge opportunity and a challenge,” Jean said.
The hotel currently has 35 rental units, with an occupancy rate of only 25 percent. The couple is working hard to improve that number.
At the same time, they are working with Rumford Town Manager Steve Eldridge and the River Valley Growth Council to bring new retail or service businesses to the five commercial spaces on the first-floor, street-level area.
“This retail space is second to none,” Jean said.
They are looking for commercial tenants who would provide something not currently offered on shoppers island, as the Congress Street section of town is called. This could include a shoe store, a jeweler, perhaps a restaurant, suggested Arthur. Maybe a community meeting room could be established, as well, they suggested.
They are quick to emphasize that the hotel is not a boarding house.
“We want to create an environment of clean and affordable housing,” Arthur said.
He works at NewPage Corp. Jean has managed properties in the area for many years.
They want to change the image of the hotel, to make it a safe, locked facility for their tenants. They are renovating the units, one at a time, and have hired a property management company from Livermore Falls to help with the apartment rentals.
Arthur said part of the reason for buying the architecturally significant hotel is his memories of family members who once worked there.
As a youngster, he’d often visit his mother, who worked in the Tap Room at the hotel. He had an uncle who once served as a bellhop. And he remembers the hustle and bustle of Congress Street.
“This represents a renaissance building. We purchased it because we believe in the building,” Jean said.
Hotel Harris was originally built as the Strathglass Building as part of Rumford’s emergence as an industrial community because of the growth of the paper company. It was a department store until a fire struck in 1931. After repairs were made, the fourth floor was added, and it became a residential/commercial space. It is considered of major architectural significance in Oxford County, according to historical sources. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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