Owens McCullough of Sebago Technics presents phase two of the Correctional Center renovations Monday night. Jane Vaughan / Lakes Region Weekly
WINDHAM — The second phase of renovations to the State of Maine Correctional Center moved forward Monday night after review by the Planning Board.
Rebuilding the Maine Correctional Center, located at 17 Mallison Falls Road, has been in the works for over a decade in a bid to increase security and address issues of overcrowding.
Phase one of the project, which was creating a new, 20,017-square-foot maintenance and central plant building, was approved in August 2018, and construction has begun. At its Monday night meeting, the Planning Board reviewed the major site plan for the second phase, which will include renovations to three more buildings.
Owens McCullough, the senior vice president of strategy and client development at Sebago Technics, explained that the renovation project has multiple phases and will include “the modernization and replacement of several buildings.”
The project involves building a new administrative building, demolishing some buildings, creating a new kitchen/laundry facility, moving the ball fields, building a new intake building and medical facility, rebuilding and expanding the parking lots and installing new LED lighting and security fencing.
“I like this project a lot,” said Board Chairman David Douglass. “This is a really good thing for Windham.”
The only issue he found was possible light pollution or glare from the outdoor LED lights. McCullough said he would confer with the project’s lighting engineer about it.
A site walk was held July 20, and the project is still waiting to receive additional permits from the Department of Environmental Protection and Portland Water District. McCullough hopes to receive those permits in August. He said bidding has already begun for phase two.
During the public hearing, Gary Plummer, a former state representative and senator, expressed concerns about the project’s finances.
“Will there be enough money to complete the project as planned?” he asked about the renovations, which are being funded with $149 million approved by the State Legislature.
McCullough explained that the project was being done in phases in order to reduce costs.
“We’re going to maximize what we can do with the dollars we have,” he said.
The Maine Correctional Center, located on 265 acres, dates from the 1930s and is in dire need of replacement, as it does not meet modern security standards.
As written in the project’s major site plan, “The existing facility has several antiquated buildings that cannot effectively support the many functions and services of a modern prison.”
The state estimates that construction of the new facility will take five years from start to finish and will return to the Planning Board for future approvals as the phased project unfolds.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
