FARMINGTON — The proposed plan for the Emery Community Arts Center on the University of Maine at Farmington campus was unanimously accepted Monday by five members of the town Planning Board.

“It’s been a long process,” UMF President Theodora Kalikow told the board of the nine year effort to find a site and design for the $5 million arts center. “We’re finally ready after many designs and changes.”

Following a short presentation by the project architect and engineer, the board approved the site review application and soil erosion control/storm water management application.

The plans include a longer building running adjacent to the west side of Alumni Theater and Dearborn Gymnasium. A present walkway will be enclosed within the building, creating a campus thruway from which art productions and rehearsals can be seen within the 100-seat multipurpose performance area.

Previous plans for a contemporary glass façade that would have encompassed the north portion of UMF’s Alumni Theater and brought the structure closer to the Farmington Public Library have been eliminated.

A parking area between the library and Merrill Hall will be turned into an art quad to be shared by the surrounding buildings. A vestibule into the new building from the quad will have a glass front facing Academy Street. The vestibule will serve as an entrance into Alumni Theater and the Art Center.

The current steps into Alumni Theater will be replaced with concrete ones that run the width of the building, creating a “sense of presence,” said architect Scott Slarsky of designLAB Architects.

Town Manager Richard Davis made a suggestion that the steps be covered with a granite veneer as a large mask of concrete looks more industrial than historical, he said.

With no other granite on the building, Slarsky kept to the plan for concrete steps.

Davis also suggested a review by the Maine Historical Preservation Commission.

Board concerns about emergency vehicle access to the back of Merrill Hall from Main Street prompted a change in plans to increase the entrance to 20 feet, said Will Haskell from Gorrill Palmer Engineers.

Last Friday, a firetruck made the entrance into the back area behind the former church on Main Street with no difficulty, said board member Clayton King who had previously voiced his concern. It all went fine, he said.

After holding two walks over the site, one for the old plan and another for the revamped plan, the board had few questions before making its decision.

“They’ve gone out of their way to make the plans agreeable to everybody,” said board member Craig Jordan. “The college is good for us and we should acknowledge that.”

Library trustees are happy with the plan, said Juanita Bean, chairwoman of the trustees, after the meeting.

“They have been very accommodating and have been good neighbors,” she said.

The 100-plus-year-old tree on the west side of the library will survive, Slarsky said during the meeting. Concerns about losing the tree, the closeness of construction and integrity of the historic Farmington Public Library Building were raised over previous designs. Trustees voiced their appreciation last week for the response to their concerns by the University and designLAB Architects.

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