LIMESTONE, Maine – Officials tasked with redeveloping the former Loring Air Force Base are revamping their approach to saving one of the base’s most iconic buildings.
Earlier this year, the Loring Air Museum and Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, proposed a bill that would have transferred the massive “arch hangar” to the museum to display former military planes. Volunteers with the museum were concerned that the 75-year-old, rapidly aging hangar would deteriorate to the point of being useless. Loring Development Authority opposed that bill, hoping to still reserve the hangar for modern aviation and aerospace industries.
Though the legislative bill failed, renewed local interest in the hangar has spurred the Loring Development Authority to work toward restoring the hangar sooner rather than later.
On Thursday, Loring Development Authority kicked off their Save the Arch Hangar campaign, aiming to raise $3 million to fund engineering studies at the structure to determine future repairs and best ways to allow businesses and community groups to utilize the space.
“[The hangar] has been underutilized long enough. It’s time we start trying new things,” said authority interim president and CEO Jonathan Judkins at a board meeting Thursday.
That marks a shift in how Loring leaders have approached potential development at the arch hangar. The authority originally planned to put the arch hangar on a long list of buildings to be repaired as part of a 5-year airport capital improvement plan, but increased concerns about the hangar’s state have moved up the timeline.
Built from 1947 to 1949, the 85,000-square-foot hangar’s roof contains 12 individual concrete sections that workers created by pouring cement for 26 hours, forming the famous arch shape. Only one other such structure remains in the U.S. at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, South Dakota.
The hangar’s roof has not undergone repairs in 20 years, and last fall the latex roof covering began sliding off, allowing snow and water to soak through the insulated core and concrete ceiling.
Judkins, who assumed his position in January, has seen firsthand how Loring’s historic landmarks like the arch hangar have made the base a major tourist destination and said he wants to see business growth coincide with events that draw visitors.
This year alone, Spud Speedway’s BikeBowl drew hundreds for concerts and motorcyle-themed activities at the hangar, while in April the total solar eclipse attracted over 2,000 spectators. Air Museum volunteers have given over 1,000 private tours there since May alone, and welcomed around 10,000 people during a recent open house.
That’s why a future engineering study will look at how to potentially section off the hangar for multiple tenants, opening up the space for both businesses and community vendors and events, Judkins said. The study will also evaluate what repairs need to be done on the hangar’s roof and doors.
“We already have a potential [business] tenant interested in renting the hangar and they’re open to us also having community events there,” Judkins said. “The key [to future repairs] is making the space good for multiple uses.”
The authority’s campaign could receive a major boost if federal legislators approve $2 million in congressionally directed spending that Sen. Susan Collins is advocating for. Annie Clark, a spokesperson for Collins, said Thursday that the Senate and House of Representatives have not yet voted on the appropriations package with hangar funds.
If the congressional funds are approved, the authority could look to begin engineering at the arch hangar as soon as spring 2025, Judkins said.
The town of Limestone is partnering with the authority to sell arch hangar-themed coffee mugs and t-shirts and to accept donations that will go toward the engineering study, repairs and matching funds for the congressional grant, Judkins said.
