AUGUSTA — The old Cony Flatiron building appears destined to start 2012 the same way it has the last several years: vacant, in city hands and with an uncertain future.
While discussions continue with the only developer to express interest in trying to revive the distinctive wedge-shaped former high school, any such efforts to find a new use for the historic structure have been stymied by concerns over a shortage of parking, the stagnant economy and a surplus of commercial property in Augusta, officials said.
The city remains in talks with local developer Gary Violette, owner of Central Maine Drywall, according to City Manager William Bridgeo. But, so far, those talks have yet to bring any results.
“Gary, I think, has some good, creative ideas for how the building could be put to a new use, while still maintaining and preserving its historic structure,” Bridgeo said. “But in a difficult economy, that is not necessarily an easy task. He’s a well-respected, capable businessperson in Augusta. But the jury is still out on whether he’ll be able to make it work.”
Advocates for the building remain hopeful it will be preserved and converted to a new, appropriate use.
“I think there is a lot of hope, still, for the Cony flatiron building,” said Mary Mayo-Wescott, president of the former Friends of the Flatiron, a recently dissolved nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the building. “The stars are lining up, but they’re not quite there yet.”
Bridgeo and Mayo-Wescott both said the city is committed to preserving the building, even if a deal can’t be struck with Violette to redevelop it.
Bridgeo said the city has about $50,000 in the budget to heat the building enough to preserve the integrity of the structure.
He said the building will need a new roof “in the not-too-distant future,” and could incur other maintenance costs. However, he believes city councilors are prepared to take whatever steps necessary to maintain the building.
Violette — whose initial proposal to redevelop the flatiron building included plans for office space, a restaurant, and condominiums — could not be reached for comment.
One issue for the developer, according to Bridgeo, has been a concern that the site, next to a Hannaford supermarket, may not have enough parking for his proposed uses.
Mayo-Wescott said the Friends of the Flatiron board voted to dissolve, but its members remain committed to help the city preserve the building if their help is needed. She said group members have come up with ideas for potential funding, which could help make the flatiron, which has a third-floor auditorium, a performing arts center.
She said a redeveloped, active Flatiron building could help the revitalization of the city’s downtown, just across the Kennebec River.
“The Cony flatiron building is very much viable,” she said.
Building fates
While the flatiron building remains standing, the fate was sealed this year for at least one prominent city building.
The old YMCA building on State Street was demolished in September after its owner since 2006, local developer Lon Walters, said he had not been able to find a tenant or new use for the vacant building.
Over the objections of preservationists, the 30,000-square-foot Augusta building, built in 1914, was demolished. Thousands of children and adults had passed through its doors to use the pool, gymnasium and other facilities.
The site is being used as a parking lot, the only visible remains of the old Y building being a large pile of granite blocks on the corner.
The city also tore down a dilapidated abandoned apartment building, at a cost of about $50,000, at 6 Morton Place.
And in December, the wrecking ball was taken to the former 50-year-old Kennebec Journal building at 274 Western Ave. The newspaper moved to 36 Anthony Ave. and the Western Avenue site is being prepared for construction of a Bangor Savings Bank branch and other uses.
One complex of historic buildings officials, preservationists, and a developer hope to preserve well into the future is the riverside Kennebec Arsenal.
State and local officials have expressed concern that North Carolina developer Tom Niemann, whose firm took ownership of the 22-acre site from the state in 2007, hadn’t been maintaining the buildings, some of which date to 1828 and are designated National Historic Landmarks.
In response to those concerns, Niemann said in October he had hired a caretaker who cleaned up and secured the property, which had fallen prey to vandals.
Bridgeo said city and state officials met recently to discuss the Arsenal and agreed to continue to push Niemann to either move ahead with redeveloping and preserving the property or turn it back over to the state.
The city-owned Hodgkins School, on Malta Street on the city’s east side, remains vacant and is being used as cold storage by the city and the school system. Bridgeo said the former middle school has been mothballed and its heating system has been shut down.
“We’re not sure what the ultimate fate of the building is,” Bridgeo said. “At some point we’ll have to have a conversation about it as we go in to the new year.”
One old structure previously converted to a new use celebrated a milestone in 2011.
The 115-year-old Inn at City Hall, previously Augusta’s center of city government and administration as well as police headquarters, was converted into 31 individual apartments for people who need assistance with daily living.
It took almost $5 million and a small army of organizations and government programs to transform the three-story, red-brick riverside building at Willow and Cony streets.
Residents, their families, staff and those who worked on the project celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the opening of the inn in November.
Keith Edwards — 621-5647
kedwards@centralmaine.com
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