The Hallowell City Council and Planning Board will host a joint public workshop about the Stevens Commons Master Plan Wednesday.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in City Hall auditorium.
The public workshop is the next step in the process that ends with the City Council approving, approving with conditions or denying the master plan.
Owner and developer Matt Morrill submitted his master plan for the 54-acre campus on Winthrop Street in September. The Planning Board approved its completeness last month, the first step in the process of turning the former girls school campus into affordable senior housing, commercial and residential space and small, clustered subdivisions.
After facing public scrutiny Wednesday, Morrill has the opportunity to make changes to the plan before the Planning Board and council both review the application. The Planning Board would make a recommendation to the council, and then the council would vote. City Manager Nate Rudy did not know when a final vote by the council would take place.
Morrill, of Grand View Log and Timber Frames in Winthrop, acquired the property from the state for $215,000 in April. Since the purchase, Morrill has been working on finding other investors and developers to help turn the space into a showcase piece of Hallowell real estate.
During its initial review of the master plan, the Planning Board recommended several small changes to the plan, including a number of grammatical ones. Morrill said he would present those changes during the public workshop.
The master plan was reviewed by interim Code Enforcement Officer Dick Dolby before the Planning Board deemed it complete. Hallowell has been without a full-time code enforcement officer since Maureen Aucoin-Geroux left the position in June.
Douglas Ide, a Manchester selectman, was hired as a part-time code enforcement officer earlier this month, though he won’t be alone in tackling the Stevens Commons project. Dolby, who spent more than 20 years heading the code enforcement office in Augusta, has agreed to remain on board to assist Ide and continue reviewing documents related to the Stevens Commons redevelopment.
Jason Pafundi — 621-5663
Twitter: @jasonpafundiKJ
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