Another positive development in the rebirth of Bangor last week gives this city hope that it can remain more than a home for a mall and discount megastores. A tentative plan for Eastern Maine Healthcare to build offices at the old waterworks buildings should cheer residents who feared the complex would soon be dressed out with a bull’s eye for the wrecking ball.

The potential deal would do much more than fill some old buildings in the city.

Through decades of neglect then extreme urban renewal 30 years ago, Bangor lost many of the structures that defined its days of prosperity and its reconstruction after the 1911 fire. The Waterworks, a handsome set of buildings now more than a bit shabby, dates back to 1875 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Several attempts to develop it in the past have fallen through because of cost and access questions — active railroad tracks stretch across the Waterworks’ driveway.

Eastern Maine Healthcare’s offer is good news for several reasons. Its campus on State Street could be naturally extended upriver to include the Waterworks. It is a local business with the financial resources to do good restoration work — EMH Vice President Kenneth Hews has already said the health care provider wants to “preserve as much as possible for historic purposes.” Better, Mr. Hews added, EMH is also considering repairing the Waterworks gatehouse, which sits closest to the water, for public use. That’s a double win for the city.

The purchase would allow EMH to consolidate administrative functions and, because of its proximity, connect with Eastern Maine Medical Center’s fiber-optic network and its emergency generators. The city benefits because it finds an owner particularly suited to the site. Unlike a restaurant once proposed there, EMH would not have constant traffic trying to get across the railroad tracks. Employees largely arrive in the morning, stay all day, and leave in the evening.

EMH, however, is not taking on the Waterworks as a charity case. It has offered a trade: the Waterworks and approximately $1 million for its former Affiliated Laboratories building on Sylvan Road. The cash portion would be used to help repair the historic structure. The agreement hinges on EMH’s ability to renovate these buildings into office space for approximately $2 million.

The question for Bangor is whether it is getting a fair exchange for its property. Consider that the building on Sylvan Road, currently unoccupied, sits on 19 acres in an area of high development. Bangor should be able to find an interested buyer for this property — at least, it will have a far easier time finding one there than persuading someone else to rehab the Waterworks.

The deal is not yet complete, but city hall should be pleased with its work so far. One building at a time, Bangor officials have begun the long process of returning this city to health. A redeveloped Waterworks is an important part of the recovery.