FARMINGTON – The local planning board began considering a plan to construct a new art center in the heart of central Farmington today, scheduling two future meetings on the subject. Meanwhile, the state’s historical preservation committee has issued a letter stating they have issues with the plan.
The University of Maine at Farmington wants to build the $5 million, L-shaped building around the Alumni Theater off of Academy Street. The 14,000 square foot building would curve around the north and western walls of the theater, fitting in between Merrill Hall and the Farmington Public Library.
The project, which is funded by a gift from a donor who asked it be used to build such a facility, would create an “arts quad” consisting of Merrill Hall, with the internal Nordica Auditorium, Alumni Theater and the arts center itself, as well as the public library. The center would contain a 100-seat performance theater, multipurpose art spaces, a digital music studio and possibly other enmities, such as a lounge.
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The lobby of the new addition would also serve the Alumni Theater during performances. It would make that theater, a former gymnasium, handicap accessible from the main entrance and provide a warm space for crowds waiting for the show to begin.
“We are very much in favor of this project,” Jayne Decker, representing the Sandy River Players said. She went on to describe the issues with the current theater, which has served as the community theater group’s home for more than 20 years.
A glass wall, taking up roughly one third of the front of the building, would allow people on Academy Street to look into the Emery building, through the lobby and at the front of Alumni Hall. DesignLAB Architects, who came up with the design, believe that the lit transparent glass section will allow the recessed theater to be more visible from the street.
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However, others have said that the design is not in keeping with the surrounding buildings. Others, including some associated with the nearby public library, have expressed concerns about the addition’s impact on the sight lines, foundations and parking of their building.
The engineers and architects sought to ease some of these concerns Monday evening, which marked the start of the application process. A site review application and soil erosion/storm water management application have both been submitted.
Gorrill-Palmer Consulting Engineers Inc. have developed a plan to channel runoff away from the building and into an underground storage pond, located beneath the campus green. From there, storm water would be treated in a plant-filled StormTreat system before being piped into the town’s drainage systems.
The building itself will meet the university’s environmental standards. Architect Scott Slarsky pointed out that the non-glass proportions were far better at retaining heat than brick or stone and that the glass itself consisted of multi-layered panels filled with gas. The building, he pointed out, would consist of a smaller percentage of glass than nearby Merrill Hall.
However, residents in attendance still had questions and comments on issues ranging from parking, with the project expected to consume 13 or more spaces out front of the alumni theater, to runoff control to the level of community access to the new facility.
The board also received a letter from the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, having prompted them for an opinion at the last meeting. While the board declined to discuss the letter, citing timing issues, both supporters and opponents of the project agreed the MHPC had expressed its disfavor with the proposal.
“They don’t like it at all,” Planning Board Member Thomas Eastler said in summation. “This is where I suspect the argument is going to go.”
The board voted to set a walkthrough at the site on July 29, at 3 p.m. The public hearing for the project has been set for August 10.
