The Eagles Mere Historic Village, Inc. (EMHVI), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was created in 2003 as to purchase and restore the commercial buildings in the center of town including the General Store Complex and the Sweet Shop. This was a multi-year, multi-million-dollar, joint effort between individual town-based donors, and the state and federal governments. EMHVI now owns and maintains these historic buildings and serves as the landlord for the shops and restaurants in the Village that operate for the benefit of residents and visitors alike.
In just the past three years, the EMHVI has spent more than $600,000 to renovate both the General Store, re-siding it and adding new water filtration system, updated and modernized the Sweet Shop, created a provided for universal WiFI Wi-Fi downtown, added charging pods to the Green to accommodate electric vehicles, and fully restored the town clock. Funded solely by donors, the need for more consistent funding is readily apparent, which is why the Village board recently enacted a 3% is adding a modest Historic Preservation fee preservation fee to Sweet Shop bills.
While the notion of a new fee of this nature may be off-putting to some, it’s really no different than the fees we all pay for garbage collection, country club dues, lake association dues, etc.
The beauty of the town center and the convenience that the shops and restaurants offer does not come without a cost, and with 120+ year-old buildings, the upkeep is never ending.
We thank you for your support in the endeavor and ask you to consider including EMHVI in your annual giving. To find out more about EMHVI please visit https://www.visithistoriceaglesmere.com/