GARDINER — The Gardiner Planning Board has given initial approval to a developer to convert an obsolete hospital in a residential neighborhood into housing.

The $3 million project would turn the vacant building on Dresden Avenue into 34 apartments.

It is the first phase of developer Paul Boghossian’s controversial vision for the site, which he calls Gardiner Green. Boghossian has proposed renovating other buildings at 150-152 Dresden Ave. and constructing condominium units to create a pocket neighborhood.

The vote Wednesday night essentially gives Boghossian the go-ahead to renovate the hospital building, with one final step to take place in August. The board is expected to review the draft findings of fact and conclusions of law, along with revised, final documents from the developer at its next meeting scheduled for Aug. 9.

Neighbors were disappointed by the decision, some leaving even before the final vote and others offering consolation hugs at the conclusion of voting.

Over the course of three years, Planning Board members have been considering both the subdivision plan and site plan for the 5-acre parcel, working through different versions submitted by Boghossian and listening to the concerns of neighbors, who say the project will essentially change the character of the established neighborhood where they live.

While the houses on Dresden Avenue were generally built on large lots between the 1840s and the 1920s, the area is zoned for high density residential use.

Among the final decisions made Wednesday were whether the project was sensitive to the character of the neighborhood.

In preparation for that vote, Boghossian had prepared and submitted renderings of six versions of how the large, west-facing wall of the former hospital building would appear to the neighborhood, with different levels of detail. In contrast to the houses around it, the hospital building is currently corrugated dyed concrete, which Boghossian is proposing to clad in cedar siding. At issue was how that expanse might be broken up with architectural elements to soften its industrial nature.

While Boghossian offered to mix and match attributes, Lisa St. Hilaire, who lives next to the property, said it’s not the Planning Board’s job to choose; it’s up to the developer to offer an option for approval. St. Hilaire is a member of the Planning Board and has recused herself from deliberations about Gardiner Green because of her conflict of interest but has taken part in discussions as a resident.

When pushed, Boghossian said he was proposing the version that would add a pergola about 3 feet away from the west-facing wall that would be covered with plants. The structure is intended to break up the long, flat wall, and when complete would be a nice place for residents to hang out. It also would be behind a landscaped buffer, he said.

Board member Adam Lemire said the style of any neighborhood is made up of a wide variety of different buildings that can be characterized as Victorian or historic, and neither the city’s ordinances nor the board can dictate what a project’s architectural style can be.

“There are certain things that have been done to the building that have brought it closer to things that were asked in regards to breaking down the scale. Is it all the way there? No, but it’s not about whether we like it or not,” Lemire said.

“It is for us,” one woman in the audience said.

“The question to me is does it have the necessary component parts?” he said.

The board agreed that it did.

Cheryl Clark, who lives on Dresden Avenue, said she recognizes that Maine needs housing and she wishes the neighbors had the opportunity to work with a different developer.

“My concern is that the property will lie fallow as other of (Boghossian’s) properties have. And if that were true, I hope a time limit prevents that from happening and they pull the application,” she said.

But she’s very disappointed in MaineGeneral because she feels it has never negotiated in good faith with Gardiner.

At a neighborhood meeting in August 2020, Paul Stein, MaineGeneral chief operating officer, acknowledged that hospital officials had erred in not meeting with the neighbors over their plans for the site when the decision was made to relocate the Gardiner operations to a new facility. They had met only with city officials.

MaineGeneral was interested in relocating because renovating the decades-old building to current standards would have cost too much. At the same time, Stein said, hospital officials were looking for a project for its Dresden Avenue property that would enhance the community.

At that time, Stein said hospital officials had contacted several residential developers, and Boghossian was the only one who responded. Stein said Boghossian had signed a purchase and sale agreement option on the property that would expire at the end of September and that he wasn’t inclined to recommend extending it.

But months after that, Boghossian purchased the property outright.

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