Here's an update from tonight's M3C meeting. For those unable to attend or watch live, the video will be posted on Vimeo in the next few days (please check back). Thanks to the many community members who have participated and continue to be a valuable part of this process.

MEETING OVERVIEW

At tonight’s meeting, the Mahoney City Center Committee (M3C) voted in support of a conceptual design for the Mahoney site that maintains the Mahoney theater and current gym area, builds a 1-story addition to accommodate the Main Library, and situates the Police Station on the site (a decision previously made by the City Council). The design firm, SMRT, also presented recently completed cost estimates for the project, which also includes a new Central Fire Station on Broadway. The estimates are significantly higher than expected for all of the options that were presented. The Committee will seek guidance from the City Council at its January 13 workshop.

In response to the information presented at the meeting, Mayor Elyse Tipton shared the following: “The cost estimates presented tonight are sobering, but a strong planning and review process remains in place. Our City Council will hear M3C’s recommendations at our workshop next month. The City Council has an obligation to ensure that our public infrastructure is strong and that our community can access services and amenities that support a safe and healthy quality of life here in South Portland. We also have a duty to be fiscally smart and not overburden taxpayers. We thank the committee members and staff who have worked on this potentially transformational project over the past nine months to get it to a place where we can now talk about how a funding plan can balance these priorities.”

KEY MEETING TAKEAWAYS

• The conceptual site design option the Committee selected to recommend to the City Council maintains the theater and current gym area. It is estimated to cost roughly $193.8M, which includes escalation and contingency costs.
• The cost difference between the Mahoney option that maintains the theater and gym area for community use and an option that repurposes the theater for municipal use is $5.7M (+ escalation and contingency costs). Based on community input, the Committee selected the design that maintains the theater and gym area.
• Alternative funding sources like private philanthropic support, commercial partnerships, TIF funds, grants, and other creative financing solutions are essential to reduce the burden on taxpayers and will continue to be fully explored.
• There are several reasons that the cost estimate is higher than the rough numbers provided early in the process by another firm. The current estimate uses more accurate and up-to-date cost per square foot figures, includes site work and cost escalation, and is based on actual, detailed space needs for city programming. The design work done to date was all required to calculate this more accurate estimate.
• SMRT also presented costs for an alternative: renovating or rebuilding existing city buildings at their current locations to meet the space needs for various city services. The cost to renovate or rebuild the Police Station, Central Fire Station, City Hall/Assessing, Hamlin, and the Main Library at their current sites is estimated to cost roughly $153.6M, which includes escalation and contingency costs. It’s important to note that for some facilities, the current site may not actually be feasible to accommodate the future buildings and/or would require structured parking, the cost of which is not reflected in this estimate.

NEXT STEPS

The City Council invites the public to attend its January 13, 2026 workshop at 6:30 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. During the workshop, M3C will present its recommended design, and the City Council will discuss and provide feedback to the Committee. The Council encourages the public to attend. Public comments can also be submitted by emailing citycouncil@southportland.gov.