A proposal to rehabilitate a dilapidated building at George J. Mitchell Field in Harpswell for use by local nonprofits is in limbo after consultants updated the project’s estimated cost to as much as $3.6 million.
Harpswell leaders have said they would allow a group of local nonprofits to undertake the rehabilitation project if they could fund it through private donations and grants. They said a “major benefactor” already has offered to contribute a portion of the needed funds.
However, a recently updated cost estimate included in a report from the Midcoast Council of Governments set the project’s likely price tag at $2.5 million to $3.6 million, higher than its initial estimate of at least $1.7 million.
So far, no local nonprofit has agreed to lead the rehabilitation effort, and only one — Harpswell Aging at Home — has expressed definite interest in getting involved.
The 70-year-old structure, known as Building 126, or the administration building, sits mostly empty and is used only for storage by the town harbor master.
Built in 1954 as part of the U.S. Navy’s fuel depot for the former Naval Air Station Brunswick, the 7,700-square-foot building became property of Harpswell when the Navy conveyed Mitchell Field to the town in 2001.
At a Harpswell Select Board meeting on Thursday, July 25, the Harpswell Anchor was mentioned by town officials as one of three potential nonprofit partners in the rehabilitation effort. But an Anchor official said the organization had previously declined.
“The Anchor was named publicly as one of three local nonprofit organizations who stated an interest in raising money to renovate and restore the building,” Janice Thompson, the Anchor’s director of development and operations, said in an email to the town on Friday, July 26. “In fact, we at the Anchor were asked to be part of this initiative, and we turned down the opportunity. While we applaud the fundraising efforts of our local nonprofits, we are not interested in getting involved with this project.”
Another nonprofit cited by town officials, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, is in the process of searching for a new executive director and won’t commit to the project at this time, said Tim McCreight, vice president of its board of trustees.
“Any major project such as the proposed partnership with other organizations and involving a significant investment should wait until the new (executive director) is in place,” McCreight said via email on Saturday, July 27.
He added that board members have expressed “concerns about the cost and the fact that the location is not central in the town’s geography.”
Local officials had previously mentioned Brunswick’s Curtis Memorial Library as a potential partner in the project, but they later said the library has opted not to participate.
Lili Ott, co-chair of Harpswell Aging at Home’s steering and executive committees, expressed enthusiasm for the project in a recent interview but said her organization isn’t in a position to take the lead. Her group is the other one town officials have cited.
Ott said she would like to see someone from the community, preferably an experienced fundraiser, volunteer to organize the campaign. She said local nonprofits need a bigger community space to hold meetings and events, and that the Mitchell Field building represents a rare opportunity to create such a space with an ocean view.
“We can’t lead it, but we would love to help with it,” Ott said.
One of her organization’s concerns is that if the administration building is torn down, the town’s zoning rules wouldn’t allow a new community center to be constructed from scratch on the same site, she said. That would mean rehabbing the aging structure is the only real option.
Former Harpswell Town Planner Mark Eyerman, who is now a planning consultant to the town, said it’s possible but not certain that a new community center could be built on the site.
Eyerman said the site is zoned “suburban residential,” and that government and institutional uses are allowed. However, he said it’s unclear whether a community center would meet the definition.
“Since it is the town policy to lease, not sell, land at Mitchell Field, that would probably lean toward a not-for-profit community center being permitted,” Eyerman said in an email, adding that no commercial activity would be allowed.
If there was interest in bulldozing the administration building and developing a new community center to replace it, “the details of the proposed use would be important,” he said.
“The town would probably reach out to its legal counsel for advice as to whether it is allowed or not,” Eyerman said.
In a July 23 memo to the Select Board, Harpswell Town Administrator Kristi Eiane said the board might consider issuing a request for proposals from other nonprofits to see if any are interested in taking on the rehabilitation project. Another option would be to schedule a vote for demolition of the building, she said. The estimated demolition cost is $200,000.
Town officials have stressed that no project to rehab, destroy or rebuild the Mitchell Field structure will be undertaken without express permission from residents via a Town Meeting vote.
