Augusta board approves height rules change for major redevelopment of former Kmart site

The proposal shown Oct. 18 to redevelop Augusta Plaza on Western Boulevard in Augusta into a hotel, housing, retail and offices moved forward Tuesday night. The Augusta Planning Board unanimously recommended approval of a charter district agreement that allows construction up to 85 feet high. This will offer a panoramic view of the Capitol building, whose dome can be seen over the trees to the left. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Magazine

AUGUST — A $48 million redevelopment proposal This project, which could bring a hotel with a rooftop restaurant or bar, apartments or condominiums to the former Kmart plaza site on Western Boulevard, took a big step forward Tuesday night when the Planning Board unanimously recommended allowing buildings up to 80 feet tall.

The proposal, which is expected to be presented to the City Council for consideration at the Nov. 14 meeting, could bring economic development to the part of the city where views from the property overlook the landscape, especially if high-rise buildings are built there. the state capitol complex and beyond. It could also help alleviate the housing shortage and add a mix of offices and retail to the now run-down and largely vacant mall area on Western Avenue.

The covenant zone agreement would allow buildings up to 85 feet tall in the area where zoning otherwise limits buildings to only 42 feet without special approval.

Developer and seasonal Augusta resident George Campbell said the project is financially viable and attractive enough to attract high-quality developers, and the ability to build on the site is crucial. It could provide more space for development and also take advantage of the views offered by a bar or restaurant at the top of a five-storey hotel. He said the buildings may not need to be that tall and that in the current concept plan, only the hotel and apartment complex are multi-storey buildings, while the retail uses on the site are currently defined as single-storey buildings, surrounded by a garden. A mixture of green space and parking lot.

“What this does is it allows us to attract the best developers. I want to get high quality here because it’s … an expensive site to handle in many ways,” said Campbell, a former commissioner of the Maine Department of Transportation. Under the administration of the late Governor Joseph Brennan. His career also included work as state development director, president of the University of Southern Maine Foundation, mayor of Portland, and president of The Boulos Company, a commercial real estate agency. “We need to get involved a little bit to do what we need to do.”

Campbell has an option to purchase the property from longtime owner Richard McGoldrick. It will work with partners to develop the site and does not intend to own the property once it is developed. He said the proposal, which must still be brought before the Planning Board for site plan review when finalized, is merely a concept plan at this point. But he said there are three parties interested in opening a hotel and retail in the area, and at least one developer is willing to build housing there.

City council members will likely discuss the proposal at the Nov. 14 informational meeting and consider it on first and second readings at subsequent business meetings, according to city development director Matt Nazar.

The proposal to redevelop Augusta Plaza on Western Boulevard in Augusta into a hotel, housing, retail and office, shown on Oct. 15, moved forward Tuesday night. The Augusta Planning Board unanimously recommended approval of a charter district agreement that allows construction up to 85 feet high. This will offer a panoramic view of the Capitol building, whose dome can be seen over the trees to the left. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Magazine

“I am very supportive of the charter district and I also like the preliminary plans for the project,” said board member Benjamin Bussiere. “I also fully respect Mr. Campbell’s background, given his work in economics and community development. If that happens, it would be nice to see that part of Western Boulevard redeveloped. “We urgently need housing.”

Tony Lewis, owner of T and K Tactical, a gun store located in the now dilapidated Kmart plaza building, said he initially came to the Planning Board meeting to speak against the project, but after thinking about it and hearing Campbell outline the proposal, he showed up. He said he changed his view.

“I think this project is a great project; it brings much-needed housing to this community,” Lewis said. “It brings a hotel to the community that I don’t see a need for. But green space would be nice. Right now it’s a rundown parking lot with not even the pole lights working. It is not a safe environment for customers to come and go. So I think there are definitely some good aspects to this project.”

The contract zone agreement would also allow the project to fall short of the city’s standard floor area ratio requirements for that zone, which regulate new buildings based on the ratio of floor area to total lot area. The change allows for a higher density of development on the land.

The city granted a similar contract district by waiving floor area ratio standards so developer Matt Morrill of Mastway Development could build a 38-unit apartment building at 99 Western Ave., just above the former Kmart space at 56 Western Ave. opened to tenants.

City councilors reject requested zoning changes to give permission Multiple versions of proposal to build a $9 million self-storage space work on the same site. Some councilors who voted to reject the proposal said they thought the site should have a better use than storage, potentially including housing. The Kmart building is currently occupied by a temporary Halloween costume business.

The Wendy’s restaurant and other lots along Western Avenue are not part of the project, nor is an auto parts supply store currently under construction near the former location of the Friendly’s restaurant.

Resident and local business owner Jordan Brandt called on officials and the developer to take steps to prevent the site, built in the 1960s as the city’s first strip mall, from ever reaching its current run-down state again.

“I would love to see Kmart go, it’s disgusting,” he said. “It would be great to have it gone and I think there could be some exciting possibilities with a new building there.”

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