By Rick Wright

Staff Writer

Construct a new city hall building behind the current one, renovate Mahoney Middle School or purchase 100 Waterman Drive – those were the three best options for a new city hall that South Portland councilors identified at a workshop Monday.

Mayor Tom Coward said he would meet with City Manager Jim Gailey this week to decide a time frame to make a final decision about city hall.

“I think we need to do something in the near term,” Coward said.

In the meantime, the mayor encouraged councilors to e-mail Gailey with requests for more information about each of the three options.

“The process we’re doing here is good. We’re looking at all the options,” councilor Tom Blake said. “We should be acting on a long-term plan for city hall. Let’s slow down and do it right.”

New construction behind the current building would be on city-owned land that faces Ocean Street. The 36,000-square-foot building with 43 parking spaces would cost an estimated $5.7 million.

Mahoney, a 90,000-square-foot building, would have more than 60 parking spaces. The estimated cost of renovating approximately half of the space is $4.4 million. The rest of the space, including the auditorium and gym, would not be renovated.

Blake said he favors Mahoney because the size allows for expansion and bringing in partners. 

Those partners could be other city hall departments, the school superintendent’s staff, community services and paying tenants, Blake said earlier this month. He also likes the fact the city owns the building and land.

The new building at 100 Waterman Drive was built in 2008 and offers 32,000 square feet of space with parking for 75 cars. It would cost $1.1 million to finish the bare interior floors. The purchase price would have to be negotiated, according to Gailey.

The Boulos Co. is listing the four-story building on its website at $1.2 million to $1.4 million per floor.

“The appeal that Waterman Drive has for me is it meets LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards. It is the best in terms of utility and energy costs,” said councilor Jim Hughes.

The current building is dilapidated and deteriorating. It needs many repairs, including $50,000 for a new furnace and $20,000 for a new roof, according to a report Gailey made a few weeks ago.

The original section of the current city hall was built in 1898 and a wing was added in 1979.

Two weeks ago, the council directed Gailey to develop a list of properties comparable to 100 Waterman Drive as possible replacements for city hall.

Gailey honored the council’s request Monday by providing seven alternatives that also included renovating the current building at 25 Cottage Road, consctructing an addition to the current building, combining city hall with a new public works building on Highland Avenue and moving into the former armory on Broadway.

The council narrowed the list to three following Gailey’s one-hour report that outlined pros and cons of each option. Gailey gave the council many details for each property, including square footage, construction costs, access to bus lines, energy efficiency, heating systems and parking.

South Portland resident David Jones was the only citizen who spoke during the public comment period. He urged the council to choose 100 Waterman Drive.

“100 Waterman is reasonable. It’s there and ready to go. I hope you will vote for that proposal,” Jones said. 

Rick Wright can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237 or news@inthesentry.com.