TURNERS FALLS — Because of an increased demand for artist and commercial space in Turners Falls, Montague is now accepting suggestions about how to renovate a historically significant building.

The industrial nature of the building, located at 15 Power St., combined with its large bay windows and location on a canal would make it a prime spot for artist live-work spaces, said Turners Falls RiverCulture Director Suzanne LoManto.

“Turners Falls has a lack of suitable places for artists to work,” LoManto said. “The hope is that in the future, in the near future, that the buildings down the canal continue to get renovated and that artists find their way to them.”

The property is being offered under Montague’s Commercial Homesteading Program, which is designed to protect and revamp key and historical properties, encourage job creation, bring buildings back onto the tax rolls and “eliminate a general condition of blight in downtown Turners Falls,” according to a RiverCulture press release.

Proposals will be accepted through Oct. 13, according to the release.

“It’s a way to get old, vacant and historically significant properties back into productive reuse and back on the tax rolls,” Montague Town Planner Walter Ramsey said. “It’s been a huge success for the town.”

The building on Power Street, Ramsey said, used to be an annex building as part of the Griswold Cotton Mill, and is listed on the national register of historic places in Turners Falls. It’s a 10,600-square-foot brick building that, according to the release, would be able to easily support “a variety of commercial uses,” including up to two artist live-work spaces.

Ramsey said the program has ended up revitalizing buildings about once a year, but there’s no specific schedule to the renovations.

Turners Falls is a center for creative people, he said, and the demand for creative space has been high, which is why this property will hopefully be put to good use.

LoManto said artists congregate in Turners Falls because it’s a less expensive place to live than somewhere like Northampton, for example, and low cost is an important factor for artists to consider.

She said it’s her hope that the community of artists in the area will continue to grow. It might take a while to develop that community, she said, but Turners Falls is headed in the right direction.

“There is, in Turners Falls, a large group of very creative people,” she said. “And creative people are drawn to each other.”