PORTLAND – The trustees of the Cumberland County Civic Center responded skeptically Wednesday to a Westbrook developer’s presentation for an $80 million project to replace the aging facility with a state-of-the-art arena in Westbrook or Portland.
It was not the kind of response Westbrook’s city officials hoped for.
Jason Snyder has expanses of land in Westbrook between Stroudwater Street and Westbrook Arterial, and in Portland between Maine Turnpike exits 46 and 47, that he has offered as sites for a publicly funded arena to replace the 33-year-old civic center.
A task force the trustees appointed has already proposed a $28 million renovation to the civic center, and it appeared Wednesday the trustees have already decided to follow that recommendation.
Snyder, who proposes converting the civic center into a convention center, made one more effort to sway the trustees during a special meeting held at the Holiday Inn-West in Portland on Wednesday morning. Snyder is also behind a project in Westbrook called Stroudwater Place, a $300 million, 1.6 million square-foot, high-end retail, mixed-use development. The project, approved by the city, has stalled due to the recession, but Snyder said he still intends to go forward with it. The arena would help spur development in the corridor, he said.
During the three-hour meeting, Snyder and a team of associates described his proposal’s intent, cost and potential benefits to the region.
Snyder’s presentation team included a representative of Populous, a firm involved in the design of arenas around the world, including Yankee Stadium and the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H.,; an independent feasibility consultant; and a construction management company.
According to the presentation, the arena would cost $80 million if built in Westbrook and $85 million if constructed in Portland. It would be a state-of-the-art, mixed-used facility featuring suites, clubs and other features, along with 6,800 seats for hockey games and a capacity of 8,000 people for concerts.
Snyder said the trustees should be looking at a broader solution to the issues with the civic center, which is in dire need of renovation. He said his arena proposal would broaden economic development beyond greater Portland and benefit everyone, regardless of whether they use the facility.
“This one project has the potential to make the state of Maine much more business friendly,” he said. “My plan is the best plan to help Cumberland County.”
However, the trustees scoffed at the details, particularly those dealing with costs.
Chairman Neal Pratt asked whether the $85 million price tag included the cost of a parking garage. Snyder said it did not, but the parking garage is not a component of the initial phase of constructing an arena.
Trustees were also concerned with moving the arena out of downtown Portland and suggested converting the civic center into a convention center would cost an additional $30 million. Trustee Linda Boudreau figured the project, all told, would cost $115 million.
In particular, trustee John Menario was unyielding in his opposition to Snyder’s plan. He said there would not be enough parking, questioned the perceived benefit of the project and claimed the civic center in downtown Portland has both driven economic growth for the city and reduced county taxes for the other municipalities of Cumberland County.
He referred to Snyder’s idea as “unreasonable,” “undesirable,” and “unacceptable.”
Snyder shied away from tough questions trustees posed. He instead asked for 60 days to provide them with a more comprehensive report.
The meeting drew a crowd of about 50 people, including representatives with the Portland Pirates, the business community and city officials.
Though the trustees seemed dead set against any plan other than civic center renovations, there was public support for Snyder.
Cumberland County Commissioner for District 3 Malory Shaughnessy called the presentation “very interesting” and said officials should be looking at the issue from a regional perspective.
Her comments drew some applause from the crowd, and several people spoke in favor of Snyder’s plan during public comment.
Among them was Westbrook City Councilor Michael Foley, who said the civic center has no benefit to Westbrook. He referenced the NFL’s New England Patriots, whose move from Boston to Foxborough, Mass., aided the local economy there.
“That same type of thing could happen here,” he said.
Following the meeting, Foley said that he was hoping to hear a more positive response from the trustees. He said it appears that “the trustees have their minds made up” already, but noted they may have difficulty obtaining public support for their position.
“It’s one thing to preserve something people love, but people don’t love this building,” he said.
Westbrook City Administrator Jerre Bryant added that he would have liked to see more consideration of this opportunity. He previously served on the board of trustees for six years starting in the late ’90s and knows the challenges of repairing the civic center.
“It’s a challenging building to change,” he said, citing its small location. “The proposal to bring a new facility and a much-needed community center is worth exploring.”
Snyder said in an interview after the meeting that the views of the trustees are “Portland-centric” and narrow.
“Unfortunately, they’re losing the bigger picture,” he said.
Whatever the board’s decision, the public will vote on a referendum asking to fund it. Snyder said between 5 and 20 percent of his plan would be privately funded.
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