Northern Light Mercy Hospital officials said they have reached a $20 million fundraising goal to support construction of the hospital’s new health care campus along the Fore River Parkway in Portland.

The hospital said Monday that a gift of $500,000 from Freeport-based retailer L.L. Bean capped the five-year fundraising effort.

More than 1,100 people, foundations and companies gave to the One Mercy capital campaign, hospital officials said, which represented the largest fundraising effort in the hospital’s 103-year history.

“This capital campaign was an outstanding community effort,” said Charlie Therrien, president of Mercy Hospital, in a news release. “We’re thankful to L.L. Bean for their remarkable gift, and we’re deeply grateful to every single donor who made an investment, big and small, in the compassionate and high-quality care we provide to our patients.”

Last week, Mercy’s emergency department moved to the Fore River site, marking the closing of the State Street hospital building to patients. Developers plan to convert the old hospital property into mixed-income housing.

Mercy’s new campus is a nearly $84 million project that includes almost 90,000 square feet of new construction. The site includes an emergency department, patient rooms and a new outpatient specialty and surgery center. Funding came from the capital campaign, the sale of the State Street property and borrowing.

“Mercy is a vital healthcare resource where many of our employees live and work,” Shawn Gorman, L.L. Bean executive chairman and great-grandson of company founder Leon L. Bean, said in the release. “L.L. Bean is proud to support Mercy’s effort to increase access to care for everyone in our community and make the final gift to help complete their campaign.”

In 2019, James Gorman, a grandson of Bean, and his wife, Maureen Gorman, donated $1 million to the capital campaign. Other major donations have included $5 million from the Mercy Endowment Foundation and $2.8 million from the family of the late Dr. Harry Davis, Mercy’s first and longtime chief of pediatrics.


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