Six businesses are at risk of having to vacate a downtown Caribou shopping plaza because one-third of the building’s sprinkler system is not functional.
The 118 Bennett Drive plaza’s tenants include a martial arts school, a physical therapy practice and a Northern Light Health clinic. The city sent an order to the businesses earlier this month to vacate the property by May 14 if the sprinkler was not fixed.
It’s the city’s latest battle with the building’s owner, Dana Cassidy, a prominent developer who owns many commercial spaces throughout Maine — including the Aroostook Centre Mall in Presque Isle.
An inspector flagged the issue with the system in March, and the city sent two notices of violation to Cassidy starting in mid-April that have gone unanswered, the city’s code enforcement officer said.
Caribou city councilors Monday said they were open to the city paying to fix the system itself and recouping the costs through a special tax lien, to keep the businesses in the approximately 35,000-square-foot property operational.
The city has requested a quote from a fire protection service company for the repairs that could delay the vacate order through at least Friday.
If repairs are scheduled or are in the process of being scheduled, the order would be further delayed, Tim St. Peter, the code enforcement officer, said.
“We know the owner. We know what needs to be done,” Councilor Paul Watson said. “I’m willing to look at something to keep them there and in business. We are not that large where we can just say goodbye to any business.”
One business, Norsemen Barbershop, announced it would close on Friday because of the building’s issues.
“Unfortunately, due to circumstances COMPLETELY out of our control regarding the … building and property conditions, we are no longer able to continue operating in this location,” the business wrote in a Facebook post.
The barbershop shifted gears in a Tuesday afternoon post, saying that it would not immediately close but would be relocating from the plaza.
The shop’s owner, Jaimi Irving, was one of three plaza business owners who sent a letter to the City Council on May 7 asking it to reconsider the vacate order. But speaking before the council Monday, she also empathized with its responsibility to keep landlords accountable.
“It’s been a rollercoaster with Dana,” Irving said. “If it was me, not being a business owner, I would sit here and [say] ‘Stick it to him, don’t let him off the hook.’”
Cassidy has gone to battle with Caribou over his properties numerous times in recent years.
Last November, the city foreclosed on a vacant 27,000-square-foot former call center owned by Cassidy in Caribou’s downtown after a yearslong fight over a valuation of the property that he believed to be unfair.
That building needs several hundred thousand dollars in repairs, Cassidy said in a March interview, because of issues with its sprinkler system that have caused mold.
He currently owes a combined $59,000 in unpaid taxes on the 118 Bennett Drive plaza from 2024 and 2025, according to tax records provided by the city. Cassidy did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
The non-functional portion of the sprinkler system is in an unoccupied portion of the building, and all current tenants have functioning sprinklers, St. Peter said. But it still presents a major fire hazard, he emphasized.
“Without the full system in operation, a fire could grow too large for the sprinkler system to be effective by the time it reached a protected space,” St. Peter told the council.
A portion of the sprinkler system froze, causing a sprinkler head to break and water leaks, St. Peter said, citing the inspector’s report. It’s unclear when the damage occurred. The city first took action on the property after receiving a complaint on April 14.
Piles of damaged ceiling tiles lie on the floor of that section of the building, a reporter observed through a window. The space was previously the location of a Sherwin-Williams Paint Store.
The deadline for Cassidy to repair the sprinkler system given in the second violation notice was Monday.
Among the plaza’s tenants are the Russell-Clowes Insurance Agency, Graciefighter Caribou, Farms Bakery, County Physical Therapy and the Northern Light Health facility, which provides both walk-in care and primary care.
Northern Light, the Maine healthcare giant, said in a statement that it was aware of the sprinkler issue and said it was “actively working” with St. Peter to “help ensure the appropriate repair of the sprinkler in question.”
“We do not anticipate that our clinical services will need to vacate the property,” the statement said.