Mechanic Falls council drops building price $50,000

The sale price for the former Mechanic Falls Family Practice Center on Pleasant Street dropped $50,000 by a vote of the Town Council on Wednesday evening. The building, once considered for town offices, is being offered for $550,000. Leslie Dixon/Advertiser Democrat file photo

MECHANIC FALLS — The Town Council voted Wednesday night to lower the price for the former medical building at 22 Pleasant St. by $50,000, to $550,000.

Town Manager Zakk Maher said there have been no offers to date.

The former Mechanic Falls Family Practice Center, an urgent care clinic opened in 2004 by Central Maine Healthcare in Lewiston, closed in September 2017.

The town bought the building in November 2017 with the idea of moving municipal offices, the police department and the library there. The $500,000 purchase was financed with a municipal bond, which included $224,500 to pay the loan on the Municipal Building on Lewiston Street.

A structural engineer later determined the medical building could not adequately accommodate all the town offices.

In September 2019, the council accepted an offer from The Rock Foundation, a real estate brokerage firm, to sell the building for $600,000.

In a related matter, Maher told councilors a Municipal Building Planning Committee should be set up to include town personnel, members of town committees and residents to provide a rough outline of how much space is needed.

Also Wednesday night, the council also held an executive session with town attorney Jack Conway to discuss a legal matter Wednesday night. Maher was not included.

In open session afterward, there was no discussion and the special meeting was adjourned.