Wing Estate decision delayed Word awaited from EMMC group

BANGOR – City councilors decided Tuesday not to take immediate action on a proposal to designate the Wing Estate as a historic landmark, opting instead to wait for a recommendation from a working group appointed by Eastern Maine Medical Center, the building’s owner.

Members of the city’s historic preservation commission had voted 4-1 on Jan. 10 to recommend that the Wing Estate be designated a local historic landmark.

During their meeting Tuesday night, several city councilors noted that the stately yellow structure at 412 State St. no longer appears to be in immediate danger of being razed.

The Wing Estate’s fate now is being deliberated by the State Street Neighborhood Work Group, created by EMMC after community members urged the hospital to rethink its decision regarding the two buildings.

The mission of the working group, which consists of hospital, city and community leaders, is to develop an understanding of the two properties’ challenges, recommend solutions for the buildings that are endorsed by all parties, support the hospital in meeting its health care demands, and present a long-term solution for the properties that would not create a financial burden to the current or future owners.

The hospital’s initial plans for the two buildings came under public scrutiny after a Nov. 1 Bangor Daily News article quoted Helen McKinnon, vice president of support services for EMMC, regarding the hospital’s plans to demolish the two buildings and use some of the space for parking.

The Wing Estate is one of a few Gothic Revival-style houses remaining in the city and is nearly two centuries old. The Robinson house, located at 424 State St., dates back to the 1930s and sits on the property of the former Howard House, which was built in 1781 and is believed to have been the first frame house in Bangor.

Steps toward designating the Robinson house historic earlier were tabled until July, pending creation of a proposed State Street Historic District.

If approved, the district would encompass several of the stately homes that sit upon the bluff overlooking the hospital’s main campus and the Penobscot River.