Bangor city councilors set redeveloping the Bangor Mall as one of their primary goals in 2025, and two recent lawsuits the city filed against the mall’s owner could be the first step in helping achieve it.
The Bangor City Council annually creates a list of priorities and goals for the upcoming year. Earlier this month, councilors agreed to make 2025 “the year of building” by continuing its push to expand housing, strengthening relationships with legislative delegations and committees, and seeking opportunities for economic development, especially in the Bangor Mall.
However, there are two barriers in the council’s plan: the city has no control of the Bangor Mall and Namdar Realty Group LLC, which owns and manages it, will not respond to city leaders.
Bangor has now resorted to filing lawsuits against the mall owner in the hopes of forcing improvements that will bring the property up to code after numerous letters to Namdar went unanswered, according to the court filings.
If successful, the city’s plan could breathe new life into a retail development that saw its heyday in the years following its 1978 opening, but has suffered a steady decline in popularity. The deterioration in the mall’s infrastructure, from the pavement in the parking lot to the building’s roof, is also creating hazards for mall employees and shoppers.
Last Friday, the city filed a lawsuit against Bangor Mall Realty LLC, Bangor CH LLC and Bangor Nassim LLC alleging the owner didn’t address a 5-foot wide stormwater pipe that broke and caused human excrement to flow into a nearby stream.
The lawsuit came a few weeks after the city filed another lawsuit in October against the same companies for allegedly failing to keep the building, sign and parking lot up to code.
If the mall owner wants to sell the property, Anne Krieg, Bangor’s economic development director, said the city is ready to work with them to find a new buyer or developer who will “bring the property to a use that benefits the city and the region.”
The city rezoned the mall’s commercial area in 2022 to allow housing to be built there, but that hasn’t happened. The mall area can house hotels, indoor recreational businesses, mixed use housing, and even maker spaces, according to Krieg.
“Many malls around the country have been developed to be entirely new and thriving places,” Krieg said. “We would love to see this level of prosperity for this site.”
Councilors Dan Tremble and Rick Fournier agreed they’d like to see the mall redeveloped into a mix of things, including housing, retail and office space.
“I think you could have a combination of residential and retail in that complex,” Fournier said. “There’s plenty of room and it could be its own unique community within Bangor.”
At a minimum, Fournier said there needs to be more communication between the Bangor mall owner and the city in order to improve the area for both shoppers and tenants.
If the mall owner is unwilling to cooperate with the city, Fournier said he hopes they “sell the property to someone who wants to do something with it.”
Julie Lisnet, one of the founders of Ten Bucks Theatre Company, which has leased space in the Bangor Mall since 2018, said she hopes the city’s legal efforts will push the owner to start caring about and improving the property. However, she’s skeptical the lawsuits will have any effect.
“Maybe eventually the city will triumph, but I think it’ll take years,” Lisnet said. “I’m no engineer, but I’m not sure the place is salvageable.”
Regardless of the outcome of the lawsuits, Lisnet said Ten Bucks Theatre plans to end its lease on March 31 for two reasons: the quality of the space and increasing costs.
The theatre dealt with a leaking roof in its bathroom and storage area for two years until the issue was resolved, Lisnet said. The theatre also hasn’t had air conditioning for five years and was recently told it would be responsible for paying for water and electricity instead of just water.
The mall also shortened its hours this year, which limits the length of the shows that the theatre can present.
Lisnet expects the theatre’s $952 monthly rent will at least double if she doesn’t cancel its lease in March.
“I know that’s not a lot of money considering the space we have, but in the grand scheme of things, if we can’t do business and earn money, that is a lot of money,” Lisnet said.
