LEWISTON — Councilors agreed to borrow $800,000 Tuesday, clearing one hurdle toward the March demolition of the Bates Mill No. 5 building.
The city is negotiating with demolition firm North American Site Developers Inc. of Boston to bring down the old mill building. The firm had the low bid on the demolition of the iconic sawtooth-roofed building that looms over downtown, agreeing to knock it down, remove all asbestos and back-fill the site for $782,000.
Councilors agreed to bond $800,000, setting aside $18,000 as a contingency fund. Now, city officials will work to finalize the agreement with the demolition firm.
The company would begin site work as soon as the weather permitted in March. They’d be finished in August.
The building is low to the ground but covers a wide area. It has more than 350,000 square feet of usable space inside, though little wood was used in construction. The work will have to proceed around a hydroelectric plant on the southern edge of the site.
Demolition crews will also have to work around construction crews building a 350-space parking garage along Lincoln Street. The city began taking construction bids for that project Monday and hopes to begin work on that in March as well.
Bates Mill No. 5 was designed by industrial architect Albert Kahn and opened in 1914. The top floor housed as many as 300 Jacquard looms during the Bates Co.’s heyday.
Bates Mill No. 5 building is scheduled to be demolished next spring.
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