The Maine State Housing Authority does not want to be put in charge of buying the dilapidated Bangor Mall and turning it into affordable housing, an official from the organization said during a Tuesday hearing.
MaineHousing has “respectful opposition” to the bill proposed by Sen. Joe Baldacci, said Erik Jorgensen, director of government relations at MaineHousing. He testified during a public hearing before the Committee on Housing and Economic Development.
The public hearing is the first step for Baldacci’s bill, which comes as officials in Bangor and the state try to force mall ownership to take care of the property. The bill, if passed, directs the state housing authority to buy the Bangor Mall, or seize it by eminent domain, and turn the property into 37 affordable housing units, including a mixture of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
MaineHousing helps people find affordable housing; it doesn’t finance or manage properties, Jorgensen said. Just because the housing authority has eminent domain power doesn’t mean it should use it, he said.
“Seeking to have us act as a developer for a project like this is sort of like asking DHHS to perform surgery,” Jorgensen said, explaining that while the Department of Health and Human Services may know the medical world, it shouldn’t be asked to use a scalpel.
It’s best for housing projects to start at the local level and build support from the ground up, Jorgensen said. Buying a distressed mall without a firm plan in place is the opposite of that.
In the original bill text, Baldacci, a Democrat from Bangor, allocated $20 million to buy the land and buildings. As of April 2024, the property was assessed at $13.2 million. Namdar Realty Group bought the mall for $12.6 million in 2019, a little more than half the city-assessed value of $24.6 million.
Baldacci said he would amend the bill to allocate $13 million for the property.
“At this point the Bangor Mall is on its way to economic self-destruction,” Baldacci said.
Two lawsuits from the city of Bangor allege Namdar Realty Group has failed to fix a broken sewer pipe, a leaking roof, large potholes and the dilapidated sign. Those are still pending in Penobscot County Superior Court.
The bill will go to a work session next. It may be tabled until next year to allow the court process to play out and find more organizations to partner with, Baldacci said at the public hearing.
