AUBURN – The former Great Falls School would become home to 21 apartment units, with room on the site for tenant parking and a new third floor, according to a Community Concepts plan.

The social-services provider and developer would share the building with the Community Little Theatre group, according to a Jan. 12 letter to Auburn City Manager Glenn Aho from Community Concepts’ Real Estate Development Director Dennis Lajoie.

According to the letter, Community Concepts would purchase a portion of the property from the city, the western wing that runs along Main Street. That part of building would be rehabilitated, and the developer would add a third floor for apartments. The project would be paid for through the Maine State Housing Authority.

Community Little Theatre would continue to operate in its current space, the eastern wing of the building.

City councilors are scheduled to discuss Community Concepts’ letter at a Feb. 9 meeting.

The city of Auburn took over the 53,000-square-foot building from the School Department in 1997 and has since been responsible for building maintenance, including replacing sprinklers in the gymnasium and auditorium. The building is the headquarters for the theater group and houses classrooms for arts groups, musicians and charities.

The city and Community Little Theatre paid for a study last year of potential uses for the center. That study recommended creating an umbrella group to handle renovations going forward.

It called for fixing some safety and health issues immediately, dividing up the rentable space more efficiently and increasing the rents for tenants. That would increase revenues for the center, making it self-funding.

Community Concepts’ Lajoie said his group first made the proposal last year, before the study had begun. The idea had been tabled by councilors and was not brought up until this fall.

“We were asked if it was still a valid concept, and it is,” Lajoie said. “So we resubmitted.”

Community Concepts would have a tight timeline if councilors like the idea, he said. The group would have to apply to the Maine State Housing Authority for housing credits by the fall if they wanted to begin work in 2010. Engineers would have to spend the summer studying and measuring the property.

“But the council could just look at it and say ‘No, we have other uses for that building,'” Lajoie said. “And that would be as far as we go.”

City councilors have not discussed the performing arts center feasibility study since it was released in November. Both the study and the Community Concepts proposal will be considered Feb. 9.

“We’re not expecting anything approaching a decision that night, but we’d like to see things get a bit more refined,” City Manager Aho said. “I think they’ll be able to rule some things out.”