GORHAM – Easing anxiety of preservationists, University of Southern Maine announced this week its plans to restore the exterior of its 193-year-old art gallery on the Gorham campus.

University officials, in a meeting on its Gorham campus with preservation advocates on Wednesday, announced restoration plans for vintage windows, siding and trim stripped from the art gallery last month in a $320,000 renovation. Earlier plans for synthetic siding have been scrapped.

The art gallery, built in 1821, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of Interior.

“I think everything is going in the right direction,” Earle Shettleworth, director of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, said Wednesday after the meeting.

Gorham Town Councilor Bruce Roullard, chairman of the town’s Historic Preservation Committee, said he’s encouraged about “a conscious effort to restore the building.”

Roullard will report on the art gallery plans when his committee meets at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14, in Gorham Municipal Center, 75 South St.

A flap surfaced last month when the art gallery was stripped bare of original clapboards and windows in a renovation. University plans to replace wood siding with vinyl were halted over public objections.

The university, facing budget woes, had opted for vinyl siding for its durability and low maintenance costs, but preservationists claimed the historical significance would be impacted.

Christopher Closs of Greater Portland Landmarks said that in the future, preservation should be viewed as a money-saving measure. Dick Campbell, university chief financial officer, said Wednesday the latest plan switching to white pine clapboards raises costs $40,000.

Campbell said the university would utilize $19,000 from a contingency fund and divert $21,000 from a fund to replace underground water pipes on the campus.

Robert Bertram, director of the university’s Facilities Management, explained after Wednesday’s meeting that four of the 14 vintage windows removed would be restored and re-installed in the landmark, with two in the rear of the building along with one on each side.

Judie O’Malley, university spokeswoman, said the 10 remaining windows would be stored until some future date when funds become available to restore and re-install them. Meanwhile, replica wooden shutters, yet to be made, would cover the remaining four window openings on each side of the building.

A composite material that can be milled is planned for trim.

With some repairs needed, the front of the art gallery facing College Avenue will remain in tact. A dialogue between the university and Shettleworth will continue regarding the need and appearance of safety railings proposed for the art gallery porch.

Campbell expected exterior work on the art gallery to be completed by Nov. 28. Classes begin on campus on Sept. 2 and switching materials has caused a work delay.

“It’s not expected to negatively impact any activities,” Campbell said.

In 1961, the art gallery, built as a religious meetinghouse and later converted to town use, was transferred to the state. It has been an art gallery since 1966.