Downtown welcomes UMS Ribbon-cutting at system’s new Bangor home could bring back ‘glory days’

Proclaiming that the “glory days” of the old W. T. Grant building are back, former Bangor City Council chairman George D. Carlisle helped welcome the University of Maine System into its new downtown headquarters Wednesday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Gov. John Baldacci and other dignitaries.

“This is really a beautiful building – well-built, with beautiful brickwork,” said Carlisle, who helped dedicate the historic structure more than 50 years ago when the W.T. Grant store first opened.

Empty and unused for decades, the building “has seen glory days and days not so glorious,” Carlisle said. “But I believe the glory days are here again.”

The sidewalk celebration in front of the new UMS main entrance on Central Street was attended by dozens of state and local officials, legislators and higher education leaders, as well as many UMS employees and members of the UMS board of trustees.

Also looking on were relatives of Raymond Fogler, former president of the W.T. Grant Co., who participated in the first ribbon-cutting ceremony in 1948.

Participants in Wednesday’s event predicted that the relocation of 120 or so UMS employees from three buildings near the Bangor International Airport to the building at the corner of Hammond and Central streets would be a major economic boost for downtown Bangor.

Speakers praised city leaders as well as UMS Chancellor Joseph Westphal for recognizing the potential of the building, which was restored by WBRC Architects/Engineers of Bangor and contractor Nickerson & O’Day, Inc., of Brewer.

Calling Bangor “the city by the river that represents the real Maine,” Westphal thanked city officials for their “great cooperation” in helping to pull together the project that was part of a land swap agreement between the community and the university system.

Noting that Brad Ryder, owner of retailer Epic Sports, which shares the first floor with the university system, had put up “with a great deal of disturbance” during the approximately yearlong construction period, the chancellor said his patience would be rewarded.

“We hope to help you down the road by bringing more people to downtown,” he said, amid laughs.

The UMS move not only means that more people can take advantage of the city’s eateries, shops and cultural attractions, but also that new businesses could be prompted to locate downtown, said Gov. Baldacci.

UMS’ presence “will add a wonderful synergy here. I see a bright future,” Baldacci told the crowd.

He noted in an interview after the ceremony that the large building had been difficult to fill because of its size. “But I’ll tell you, the wait was worth it,” the governor said.

During the ceremony, Bangor Mayor Frank Farrington hailed the system’s presence as “another major step in the rebirth of downtown Bangor,” and said the event “marks the culmination of a new phase in the longstanding partnership between the city and the University of Maine System.”

Downtown has long been the heart of Bangor, he said. “Now there will be a lot more people down here to pick up the beat.”

Charles Johnson, chairman of the UMS board of trustees, called the move “absolutely the right decision for the state of Maine and the university system.”

He said the relocation would facilitate the implementation of UMS’ reorganization plan because employees now will be under one roof and can work together more easily.

Trustees also will appreciate the new building because they won’t have to travel as much from campus to campus to find a conference room large enough to accommodate their meetings, Johnson said.

Grappling with high energy prices and tight budgets, the board now can work in a much more “efficient and effective way,” he said.

Noting that renovations aren’t complete and that employees still are moving in, the chancellor said an open house would be held in early December.

“We’ll welcome you back then to see inside,” Westphal said.