Bangor names architectural task force

BANGOR – With several major downtown and waterfront building projects on the drawing board, the city is taking steps to ensure that the architectural character of the new construction does not clash with Bangor’s existing traditional downtown historic settings and densities.

To that end, Council Chairman John Cashwell III has appointed a 10-member task force that will be given the mission of establishing a series of architectural design guidelines.

The guidelines will be used to evaluate proposed development on city-owned property downtown, along the Main Street corridor and on the waterfront. It will be shared with developers of private projects in those areas, Cashwell said Friday.

“What we’re looking at with projects like [Penn National Gaming Inc.’s] racino and the [new state] courthouse coming is that we have no guidelines for architectural design,” he said.

“What this will do is allow architects and city staff to examine ways to ensure all future development is compatible with the existing [building] styles that Bangor has, shy a few glaring examples of vanilla architecture,” he said, citing Central Fire Station on Main Street as one city-owned example.

The guidelines will help further the “sense of place” apparent in Bangor’s downtown, he said.

“The key is not to prevent or complicate future construction but to guide architectural design,” Cashwell said. “It’s easier to address [design issues] up front than trying to fix them afterward.”

The area to which the standards will apply includes downtown, Bangor Waterfront and the Main Street corridor from downtown to Interstate 395, including Bass Park.

The task force will be chaired by Mike Crowley, a former Bangor city councilor and mayor.

Also named to the panel were: three members of the local architectural and engineering community, Paula Beall of Q13 Architects, Judy Graebert of AMES A/E and Mike Pullen of WBRC; three constituents of the affected area, David Hughes of Epstein Commercial Real Estate, Deb Jordan of Merrill Merchants Bank and Edward Leonard of Eaton Peabody; and three city staffers, Downtown Coordinator Sally Bates, Planning Officer David Gould and Dan Wellington, code enforcement officer and historic preservation coordinator.

Cashwell said the task force will begin its work next month and has been asked to complete it by April 1.

The group then will present its recommendations to the City Council for review, adoption and future use.