By Nate Jones

Staff Writer 

The South Portland Armory, once owned by the Department of the Defense and used for troop training and weapon storage, is now home to a slew of lost bikes, donated wheelchairs, solar-powered trash compactor units, street sweepers, boats and municipal vehicles.

Although ideas for  redeveloping the 35,000 square foot building have been numerous since the city purchased the building and property in 2006 for $650,000, city officials say there is nothing “currently in the works” to develop the space.

In November 2007, the city council accepted a report by the South Portland Armory Committee. The report, which took a year to compile, prioritized all possible uses for the structure. South Portland City Manager Jim Gailey, who was on the committee, said the possibility of using the Armory for a new city hall was at the top of that list.

“Since then there hasn’t been a heck of a lot going on,” he said.

City Planner Tex Haeuser said he was also unaware of any plans concerning the redevelopment of the Armory.

“My impression is the city did its work, now we’re waiting for some catalyst to take action,” he said. “It’s really between the city manager and the council at this point.” 

South Portland resident Robert Lord said he has opposed a redevelopment of the Armory since the city purchased it. He said he would rather see the city sell the Armory than invest more funds to rebuild the structure for any use.

City Appraiser Elizabeth Sawyer said the Armory and the 2.74 acres is currently valued at $727,000, although the city would perform a more thorough assessment before placing it on the market. 

President of Ingalls Commercial Brokerage Andrew Ingalls, said he believes the nearby fire and police departments should continue to use the Armory as a storage and training facility, as the city would not stand to gain anything by selling it.

“Who would want to buy it?” he said. “It’s a nightmare of retrofitting. [A private investor] would have to get [the Armory] for next to nothing.”

Children’s Theater of Maine Managing Director Raymond Dumount, said the organization considered buying the Armory several years ago, but decided against it “due to serious cost considerations.”

South Portland resident and head coach of the high school varsity lacrosse team Tom Fiorini said he was surprised the city hadn’t looked at selling the property more seriously considering the need for school funding.

“I always thought we should take care of our kids first,” he said.

Councilor Linda Boudreau, who did not vote in favor of the Armory purchase, said she was opposed to spending more money on the project when the city had other high priority needs.

“I think that supporters of [the Armory development] are trying to determine how much money they can pull together from the sale of [city owned] property,” she said.

Fiorini and Lord both said while they couldn’t speculate on why the city hasn’t taken any action to either improve or sell the building over the past year, they would support putting the Armory on the market even if it meant re-zoning the property as a Limited Business Zone to allow some retail or office development. Ingalls said rezoning would be the first step in attracting private enterprises.

“Make it work for the city, make it work for the people,” Fiorini said.

Knightville Neighborhood Association Co-chairman Rommy Brown said she could understand why some South Portland residents are upset about the slow-moving Armory project, but she is glad the city purchased the property and has considered the past two years a necessary step in proceeding with any new development.

“I’ve worked with the city for 11 years, and know these things take time,” she said. “If we make a hasty decision we’ll regret it.” 

Brown said she has changed her mind about the recommended uses for the Armory as time has passed. 

“I’ve gone from ‘you’re going to have to move city hall over my dead body’ to supporting whatever the next step is,” she said.

Gailey said he also thought using the building as a city hall made sense as opposed to some of the other suggestions the committee considered, which included a library and creating a space for non-profit organizations.

Waterfront Market Association President Bob O’Brian said he felt indifferent about the relocation of city hall as long as the remaining building next to the post office on Cottage Road was “redeveloped to be consistent with the master plan for the downtown area.”

Ingalls said it would be difficult for the city to sell city hall and the other municipal buildings in the downtown area, altogether valued at roughly $1.6 million, largely for the same reasons as the Armory.

“I don’t think it’s worth that much,” he said. “It’s a goofy little building that would probably have to be torn down and rebuilt.”

Gailey said a downturn in the economy was responsible for the city’s lack of action concerning the Armory. 

“At this point, we’re all looking to keep the wheels on the bus,” he said. “We need to look at ways of [developing the Armory] without relying heavily on bonding.”

Mayor Jim Soule also said he believed the Armory redevelopment be done without the use of city bonds. He said in moving forward with the project the council should consider the amount saved by placing all city departments under one roof.

“The annual savings would be substantial,” Soule said.

South Portland Finance Director Rob Coombs said the city has budgeted $52,839 in the upcoming year to pay for rent on city official offices not located in the current City Hall.

Brown said she now believes moving City Hall would not have any negative outcomes on the Knightville and Mill Creek neighborhoods, as the Armory is still located inside the same downtown tax increment financing district (TIF) as the current City Hall. Although City Hall would be in a different location it would remain part of the TIF, which helps provide funding for improvements in the area, she said.

“I’ve adopted the ‘wait and see’ philosophy,” Rommy said.

Coombs said the Downtown TIF is aimed specifically at improving the downtown Knightville and Mill Creek area. It is the only TIF which can receive funding from other developed areas which may negatively affect the downtown, such as Jared Jewelry and Hannaford. As the Armory is still inside the TIF area, it would still be eligible for funding through the Downtown TIF district, he said.

City Councilor Maxine Beecher said the city would have to allocate funding to improve pedestrian and vehicle access to the Armory building before it became city Hall’s new home.

“There would definitely have to be some type of change in the property to allow safe exiting of vehicles,” Gailey said.  

The Armory report will most likely be discussed during a May workshop, Gailey said.