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CALAIS, Maine — The Maine National Guard has decided to continue using the Calais Armory after weighing a plan to transfer it to the city.
The guard had considered selling the armory to the city and even obtained a property valuation.
Maj. Nick Erickson, the acting state public affairs officer, told The Maine Monitor that the Maine National Guard now plans to retain the armory “in case our force structure throughout the state changes in the coming years.”
Erickson did not provide details of the guard’s plans for Calais, but the decision ends the city’s three‑year effort to acquire the facility.
Calais City Manager Mike Ellis took the news in stride.
“We were in a real good position a few years ago to purchase something,” he said. “But, as you know, because of everything going on at the county level, all the budgets have tightened up.”
Under state law, municipalities get first priority on such sales if they can pay the appraised value. When the appraisal came in at $575,000, Ellis was enthusiastic.
He said he favored the purchase as a way to replace some of the city’s aging facilities, including City Hall and the police station.
“It’s a premium property in the center of town, right next to all of our ballfields,” Ellis said.
Construction of the Calais Armory was completed in 1956, one of many armories built nationwide after World War II. The facilities were used to store units’ equipment and served as gathering places for drills and deployments.
The first unit assigned to the Calais Armory was C Battery of the 314th Anti‑Aircraft Artillery Battalion. It was followed by the 136th Engineer Company, the 262nd Engineer Battalion, and B Battery of the 1st Battalion, 152nd Field Artillery.
Since 2007, the armory has been home to Detachment 2 of the 1136th Transportation Company, which remains assigned there today.
In 2015, a mix of state bond money and federal funding was used to update “energy efficiency, facility comfort and preparedness,” according to the National Guard.
Renovations were completed in 2016, and the guard announced at a reopening ceremony that November the investment meant the building could serve for another 35 years. But use of the armory, which the guard now sometimes calls the Calais Readiness Center, appears to have declined since then.
It is one of several armories in Maine rented as event space, and the National Guard keeps a recruiter there.
Ellis speculated the change in plans reflects improvements in the Maine National Guard’s numbers.
“I think, since the change of administration, their recruiting has gone better,” he said. Maine’s National Guard recruitment numbers do appear to be up as of last year, with the Maine Air National Guard reportedly exceeding recruitment goals in 2025.
Ellis said the guard’s recommitment to Calais can only benefit the city, from emergency preparedness to added traffic at local businesses.
“Any time you have more people around, it’s good,” he said.
Erickson said the Calais Armory’s future is expected to be discussed at a stationing committee meeting set for later this month.