359 Lisbon St. owners get 30-day reprieve to come up with rehab plan
City Building Inspector Gary Campbell said both buildings suffer from years of neglect and water damage and would need a lot of work to be safe.
LEWISTON – Some last-minute legal maneuvers convinced city councilors Tuesday to delay plans to tear down a failing Lisbon Street building.
Councilors heard plans to demolish two different Lisbon Street buildings at their meeting Tuesday. The city will give the South End Social Club until November to move or fix up its failing three-story building at 327 Lisbon St.
But owners of the dilapidated building at 359 Lisbon St. made a bid to save it from the city wrecking ball. Richard Trafton, lawyer for the owners, said the corporation transferred ownership of the building to a sub-corporation, Klister LLC, Tuesday afternoon.
That group is trying to sell the building to a willing investor, Trafton said.
“The building has problems, and we acknowledge that,” Trafton said. “Our intent is to see it sold and to see it renovated.”
City Attorney David Pierson said it looked like a positive move for the failing building.
“It could be a hopeful sign,” Pierson said. “It could be a new vehicle to get some investment in the building.”
Both buildings would need a lot of work to be considered safe, however. City Building Inspector Gary Campbell said both buildings suffer from years of neglect and water damage. The entire first floor of 327 Lisbon St., home to the South End Social Club, is supported by failing columns and buckling beams. The upper floors are abandoned and leak.
“There isn’t one problem with this building,” Campbell said. “If it were one thing, it could be fixed. Really, it’s a combination of neglect, age and water damage that make it unsafe.”
Dolores Gadboury, treasurer of the social club, said they are looking for a new home.
“We’ve tried to improve the first floor, the best we could,” she said. “But other than that, it’s hopeless to repair.”
Councilors agreed to give the club until Nov. 1 to move out of the old building and demolish it. If the club doesn’t, the city can demolish the building itself and charge them for the work.
Campbell said the building at 359 Lisbon St. is in even worse shape. All three floors of that building have been abandoned for years.
“There are parts of the first floor I wouldn’t even walk on,” Campbell said. “It just didn’t feel safe.”
Councilors had planned to set a deadline for the owners to repair the building or tear it down. City Administrator Jim Bennett suggested they table that review until July 15. That would give owners a chance to come up with a rehabilitation plan.
“We should expect to see concrete evidence that they have a financial plan to complete the work and a solid plan to do the work that has been designed by professionals,” Bennett said.
Councilors agreed, but Councilor Renee Bernier said she wanted to see cosmetic changes happen before the July 15 meeting.
“I don’t care if you paper over the windows or cover them in smiley faces, but something needs to be done to make the trash on the first floor less visible,” Bernier said. “We’re talking about the southern gateway to our city, where we are preparing to invest millions. It shouldn’t look like that.”
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