An undeveloped lot on the corner of Court and Hammond Street in Bangor may be turned into a parking lot.
A proposal brought before Penobscot County Commissioners Wednesday explores potentially developing the lot of the former Bangor YMCA, which the county bought in 2017, into a parking lot. The lot is currently undeveloped, with part of it being gravel and dirt while other portions are used for parking.
The lot has sat empty since Penobscot County paid $2 million to demolish the then 133-year-old building. This isn’t the first idea for how the lot could be used, with previous proposals to use the building or land for apartments or a new county jail having never been realized, but this is the first proposal since 2024.
County Commissioner Chair David Marshall asked County Administrator Blair Tinkham to put together the parking proposal, Marshall said, in an effort to find additional revenue for the county. The plan was drafted Tuesday, Tinkham said, so projections for paving costs or possible revenue have not yet been worked out.
“It’s in the exploratory investigative phase right now, and when we get more information, we will bring it back for further consideration,” Marshall said.
Revenue would come from drivers paying to park in the lot.
Penobscot County officials have been searching for ways to cut costs and bring in more revenue due to a multi-million dollar budget shortfall. A hiring freeze and spike in income from the registry of deeds has helped alleviate the county’s budget deficit, but officials are still searching for more ways to bring in more funds.
Paving could not take place on the portion of the lot made up of gravel and dirt without additional work being done. The Maine National Guard may be able to level the gravel portion for free as part of its annual two-week innovative readiness training, Tinkham said.
The portion of the lot farthest from Hammond Street would need to be repaved, Tinkham said. Repaving could happen quickly and bring revenue to the county before the rest of the lot is paved, Tinkham said.
While the proposal is meant to bring in revenue because of parking demands, Commissioner Dan Tremble said there may not be high demand in that area of the city.
“When I used to be on the [Bangor Downtown Parking Advisory Committee], this part of town had the least demand of any part of town for parking, so I think we should look at what they get for parking around here,” said Tremble, who previously served on the Bangor City Councilor for 15 years.
Even if there isn’t a need for parking on that lot, the county should still grade the lot to make it “more presentable,” Tremble said.
While the lot has been sitting vacant for more than two years, it has been listed for sale. The listing was recently taken down, but commissioners approved on Wednesday it to be relisted by Epstein Properties. The 1.63-acre parcel was most recently listed for $600,000. Penobscot County paid $825,000 for the lot and YMCA building in 2017.
Although the lot is going to be relisted, county officials still will work through the concept proposal, Tinkham said.
“We’ve had several discussions with the staff, and we think that this is potentially an opportunity for us to generate revenue and make it probably more marketable in the future to future buyers of that land,” he said.