ROCKLAND – A tourism haven on the city’s waterfront is clearly on the horizon.

By next fall – perhaps sooner – the Gateway Center should open, complete with a lighthouse museum, Chamber of Commerce, museum exhibits, Maine Lobster Festival headquarters and the Police Department, to name a few of the building’s new occupants.

“The idea is to give tourists a quick taste and flavor of our community,” City Manager Tom Hall said Thursday.

Besides being home to the city’s police force, the former Courier Publications building at 1 Park Drive, now owned by MBNA, will house the “finest lighthouse collection in the world,” according to Bob Hastings, executive director of the Rockland-Thomaston Area Chamber of Commerce.

But more than being a center for showing off what Rockland has to offer, the Gateway Center is seen as a seed of sorts, which could result in tourism-related development in the downtown waterfront district.

“It’s going to be a linchpin” for economic development potential, Hall said.

The center may also play an important role in the establishment of a tax increment financing district in the Park Drive and Tillson Avenue area to attract tourism-related development, Hall said, “breathing life into an area that’s destined for changes.”

Hall envisions a percentage of the new value from a TIF district going toward building a parking garage in the city.

Now that the city has signed a five-year lease with MBNA for the entire building and secured approval for a sublease to Maine Lighthouse Museum for the upper-level floor, architectural planning and fund raising are on a roll.

Once the city occupies the building, it will begin paying $140,000 to $150,000 in annual rent to MBNA based on the cost of renovating the ground-level space for the Police Department. Each floor has approximately 15,000 square feet of space.

MBNA has agreed to spend up to $800,000 toward Police Department renovations.

By Sept. 1, the city was supposed to have plans, specifications and a completion date to present to MBNA, Hall said, adding, “We’re lagging behind that date.”

Architect John Hansen of South Thomaston has the floor plans ready and the bid documents nearly finished, Hall said, noting that a meeting for the public will be announced soon.

Hall expects the police station renovations to go out to bid in mid-October.

The city is searching for the right tenant for the remaining 7,500 square feet of space in the lower level, where the police station will be.

Senior Spectrum has viewed the space for its operations and an adult day care program, Hall said, noting that another potential occupant is the Maine Lobster Festival Corp.

Although there are plans to have Maine Lobster Festival headquarters in the upper level, the ground floor may be more suitable since the existing exit is directly onto Harbor Park, where the annual festival takes place.

New plans call for access to the police station from the east side of the building, closest to the waterfront.

While the city’s plans for the building are taking shape, the Maine Lighthouse Museum has set a goal of raising $1.4 million for its part in the Gateway Center.

The nonprofit group will pay approximately $15,000 annually to rent the space, which is based on the property’s tax value, and will pay the costs for renovation.

Hastings would not speculate on the cost of renovations or disclose the amount of money the group has raised so far.

Again, John Hansen is the architect for the museum project, which will include not only the museum, but exhibit space for other members of the center – Shore Village Museum, also known as Maine’s Lighthouse Museum, Farnsworth Art Museum, Island Institute, Rockland Historical Society, Maine Lobster Festival and Owls Head Transportation Museum.

On Thursday, Hastings said the real fund raising is about to begin – first with a “stealth campaign” and then a “general campaign.”

Other than saying a “significant” amount of money has been pledged or given, Hastings said the “stealth campaign” is done through subtle solicitation of major contributors. A general campaign will come later to go after more modest donations.

Both Hall and Hastings say the Gateway Center is an anchor for future tourism-related growth and a TIF district could cinch such development.

“We’ve seen the success downtown,” Hastings said, referring to the revival of Main Street, after the transformation of several old buildings by the Farnsworth Art Museum and Island Institute. “This is going to feed into it.”