AUGUSTA — The Blaine House is getting $4.5 million worth of upgrades to make it more secure from those who don’t belong there and more accessible to those who do.

The construction work includes a prominent new security fence being built around the perimeter of the Blaine House property along Chamberlain, Capitol and State streets. A wooden, white picket fence is being replaced with a new security fence made of stone, masonry and metal, similar to the fencing already surrounding the State House.

The project was prompted by a security study initiated in 2018 and is meant to improve security at the state-owned official residence of the governor, which is also the site of public events and tours.

While this project has been in the works for seven years, it comes at a time of heightened political tension across the United States. In June, a Democratic Minnesota lawmaker and her husband were assassinated in their home and a second lawmaker and his wife were shot in their home. And in April, a man set fire to the official residence of Pennsylvania’s governor that prompted the installation of an “anti-climb” fence.

Sharon Huntley, director of communications for the state Department of Administrative and Financial Services, said the new security fence and gates “will be more substantial and provide greater security than the previous wooden picket fence.”

Work already completed as part of the project includes the construction of an entrance at the rear of the Blaine House property accessible to people with disabilities that meets federal standards, and the demolition of the small staff house that had stood at the rear of the property.

The current phase of work includes asbestos abatement and disposal; repairs to a garage wall and roof; new vehicle, pedestrian and service gates; creating a path accessible by people with disabilities from Chamberlain Street to the back lawn, where Huntley said many events take place; and a new electronic security system with improved lighting and cameras integrated with the new fencing and gates.

The project will also replace sidewalks on Chamberlain and Capitol streets, and reset curbing on State Street.

Matt Nazar, director of development services for the city of Augusta, said the staff house demolition required and received a permit from the city after review by the city’s Historic Preservation Commission. The work on the garage required a city commercial building permit. None of the work at the site, Nazar said, required review by the Augusta Planning Board.

Huntley said the Maine Historic Preservation Commission was involved in the project at the Blaine House, which is a National Historic Landmark. The entire property is in the Capitol Complex Historic District.

“Historical appropriateness was a top priority,” Huntley said. “The Maine Historic Preservation Commission was involved in every step of the process. The fence as designed is similar to the historic fence across Capitol Street at the State House.”

The Capitol Planning Commission, which oversees governmental facilities in the immediate area, and the Blaine House Commission, which oversees changes to the Blaine House, were also involved.

Huntley said the project is expected to be completed in November.

The work is being funded through a 2024 bond issued for capital repairs and improvements to state-owned facilities, as well as some state general fund money, Huntley said.

This week, most of the site remained surrounded by a green, chain-link construction fence, and Chamberlain Street was closed to traffic on the Capitol Street end. Concrete forms protruded from the ground where the new security fence will be installed. Concrete Jersey barriers lined the project site on Capitol Street.

Huntley did not address questions about whether the political turbulence was a factor in the security upgrade.

In February, Gov. Janet Mills became the focus of attention following a tense exchange with President Donald Trump over transgender policy during a White House event.

The Capitol Complex has been the site of a number of protests in Maine.

A series of protests during the COVID-19 pandemic took place outside the Blaine House. In 2011 Occupy Augusta protesters entered the grounds of the Blaine House, with four of them later convicted of criminal trespass for refusing police orders to leave the grounds of the governor’s residence.

And in 2023, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ home was targeted in a “swatting” incident in which suspects falsely reported a break-in at her home to police. The incident came as Bellows was in the national news and facing intense backlash for ruling that Trump was not qualified to appear on the 2024 primary ballot because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

An analysis of security at the Cross Building and State House, both of which are directly across Capitol Street from the Blaine House, was conducted in 2021. Work recommended by that analysis, including a new security entrance to the Cross Building and a reworked security entrance at the State House, is underway now and scheduled to be completed for the start of the 132nd Legislature in January 2026. That project is budgeted, Huntley said, at $7.2 million.

The Blaine House was built by retired ship Capt. James Hall in 1833 and purchased in 1862 for $5,000 by Maine politician James G. Blaine, who ran for president three times. He lived there until his death in 1893.

After Blaine’s death, his wife, Harriet, continued to live there. When she died in 1903, she left shares of the property to several family members. Harriet Blaine Beale donated the house and grounds to the state to serve as the governor’s mansion in 1919.

Huntley said Gov. Janet Mills has continued to live in the Blaine House during construction and some public tours and events have continued to take place, but on a very limited basis.

Doten’s Construction, of Freeport, is the general contractor on the project, chosen through a competitive bidding process.