Bangor to take land for waterworks redevelopment

BANGOR – The city is poised to take by eminent domain the land needed for access to the historic waterworks complex, now the subject of a redevelopment project that aims to expand affordable housing options.

A council order to that end will be on the agenda of the next City Council meeting, at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Assistant City Solicitor John Hamer said Thursday. The land would be taken from Maine Central Railroad, which has been resisting the city’s efforts to provide access to the waterworks from State Street.

If the council votes to proceed with the taking, the city would pay the railroad $500, which Hamer said is an amount typically paid in crossing cases.

A similar order appeared on the agenda of the council’s last meeting. An attorney representing the railroad argued, however, that the city failed to provide it with seven days’ notice and a public hearing. Though the city does not believe it is obliged to provide that notice, it decided to do so to avoid any chance of a legal challenge later.

The taking is related to the city’s effort to obtain a railroad crossing along State Street. The crossing and the road that would be built on it are needed to allow vehicular and pedestrian access to the city-owned waterworks.

Shaw House Development Inc., a for-profit subsidiary of Shaw House Inc., the nonprofit group that owns a shelter for homeless teens on Union Street, is working to acquire the State Street property that has been vacant since the 1970s as part of a $6 million redevelopment plan.

The developer has been working with the city and several development partners to convert the waterworks complex, a collection of brick buildings, into efficiency units for low-income adults.

Besides helping meet a need for affordable housing, the project also would preserve the historic waterworks complex, which has been deteriorating rapidly for the past several years.

Maine Central Railroad filed a petition last fall in Penobscot County Superior Court asking the court to reverse the state Department of Transportation’s June 2003 approval of the crossing, citing safety concerns.

In a decision issued on March 12, Justice Andrew Mead upheld the DOT’s decision to grant the crossing.

In April, Maine Central Railroad filed notice that the railroad would appeal the decision to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

The appeal forced Shaw House Development to postpone a real estate closing set for May and could cause serious delays in construction, originally set to start last September and then rescheduled for June.

Hamer said oral arguments on the appeal are scheduled for mid-October. If the railroad prevails, the taking would be moot, he said.