News in brief BANGOR: DEVELOPER CLOSER TO TACKLING UNION PLACE

More than two years after his first offer, local developer John Karnes was granted an option agreement for Union Place, once one of the city’s most run-down neighborhoods. In a unanimous vote Monday night, city councilors agreed to give Karnes first dibs on the property through Oct. 1. Karnes’ plan for Union Place calls for overhauling an existing four-unit apartment building that is in great need of repair and adding two new buildings, housing four units each. Under his option agreement with the city, Karnes must invest at least $822,751 in the project and pay $6,000 for the 0.08-acre site. According to city documents, Karnes must begin work on both the existing and new units by Oct. 1. The deadline for rehabilitating the existing units is May 31, with the exception of approved exterior work, which must be completed by July 1, 2007. The new buildings would have to be completed by Aug. 1, 2007.