The Right Move

A proposal to move the University of Maine System offices to downtown Bangor is great news for the city and local businesses. Having 120 additional people working downtown and their visitors coming to the UMS offices for meetings will be a boon to businesses that could sorely use more foot traffic. More cups of coffee will be sold, more lunches will be eaten at downtown restaurants, more money will flow to downtown merchants.

The proposal is for the university system offices to move to the upper floors of the W.T. Grant building, once a department store, that now houses Epic Sports on the lower floors. The current UMS offices, in buildings across from Bangor International Airport, will be turned over to the city for redevelopment as part of the city’s business park.

Many details remain to be worked out, but further exploration of this proposal should be heartily endorsed by the UMS board of trustees when it meets Monday and by the Bangor City Council the following week.

The university system would benefit by centralizing its employees in one large building rather than have them spread among three buildings now. They would also gain more space for meetings, which could save the expense of having board of trustees meetings at various locations throughout the state. And, the system shows that it is serious about spurring economic development in Bangor by moving stable, well-paying jobs to a central location where the employee presence will generate more business for downtown stores and restaurants. It does so while also cementing its relationship with the city it once, long ago, threatened to abandon for more southerly climes.

The city benefits by having ready office space at its disposal. The city routinely gets calls from companies looking for space to rent, says Bangor Development Director Jonathan Daniels. It currently has no large buildings available in the business park. The UMS buildings could be attractive to companies looking to move to or expand in Bangor, Mr. Daniels said.

While appraisals of all the properties involved have not been completed and cost estimates for renovating the Grant building are not finalized, the idea is that the properties given to the city will be the same value as the refurbished downtown building. To even the deal, the university can add in land it owns between Maine Avenue and Interstate 95. The university system has made it clear that it does not intend to spend money on this deal, but neither should the city lose money in the transaction.

The one complaint raised so far, that parking for additional employees and visitors could be a problem, can also be turned into a positive. There is plenty of space in the recently expanded Pickering Square parking garage, which counter to some conventional wisdom, is not far from downtown offices and other buildings. People walking from their cars to work should be seen as potential customers. They just may want to grab a cup of coffee or a bagel or a new pair of shoes on their way to the office.

Barring any unforeseen complications, this is a move well worth making.