LEWISTON — City councilors on Tuesday rejected a plan to give Auburn developer Tom Platz another five-year extension on redeveloping the huge Bates Mill No. 5.

Instead, they agreed to a six-month extension with the promise of a five-year extension if Platz and city staff come up with a revised agreement with clear development benchmarks.

Council President David Chittim said he was in favor of continuing the option agreement, which would have ended Feb. 28, but noted the only major change the city has seen since the previous five-year agreement was approved in 2021 is a new roof on the building.

“We can’t be here five years from now … saying ‘Gee, we should have some performance requirements incorporated into the extension of the option,’” Chittim said.

The parties have six months to return to the council with measurable milestones. If no proposal is reached, the council would need to consider next steps, Chittim explained in an email after the meeting.

The 350,000-square-foot city building on Main Street has been vacant for decades. City officials have struggled with determining its fate because while redevelopment costs would be high, demolition of the structure would also be very costly.

According to developers, the cost of developing the property would be $150 million to $250 million. The building is not considered good for redevelopment as housing, and will require at least one major tenant to anchor a mixed-use or employment-focused project, they say.

Doreen Salls, property manager for the Bates Mill Complex, said Platz Associates has invested over $700,000 in marketing, design, engineering and redevelopment research specific to Bates Mill No. 5. The most recent option agreement extension occurred just as the COVID-19 pandemic began, which caused major disruptions in the market, Salls said.

“These impacts were unforeseen by the council and disproportionately affected large-scale adapted reuse projects such as those in the Bates Mill Complex,” Salls said. “Delays experienced during this period should be viewed in that broader context rather than as a lack of commitment or capacity.”

Earlier this year, Platz acknowledged the pandemic seriously set redevelopment efforts back. “The toughest thing in the last four years has been the abandonment of the downtown by businesses,” he told the Sun Journal in January, adding that Lewiston has likely lost more than 2,000 people working downtown during that time. “Everyone wants a vibrant downtown, but you as a worker or as an owner have to be willing to work downtown and not from your bedroom.”

That shift away from downtowns came as Platz and city officials agreed in 2021 on what was dubbed a “final” five-year option agreement for Platz to purchase the building should a viable redevelopment move forward.

Several councilors Tuesday night voiced support for continuing the option agreement extension but also shared their frustration with the years of limited visible progress on the building beyond roof work. About $250,000 has been spent by the city since July 2025 for upkeep and various expense on the building. Numbers on total spending by the city since it assumed ownership in 1992 were not immediately available Thursday.

Ward 1 Councilor Joshua Nagine said redevelopment will shape Lewiston’s future, but inaction could force difficult decisions.

“If Bates Mill No. 5 is going to become anything other than a pile of rubble, it’s going to be you who does it,” Nagine said, referring to Platz Associates. “(But) $150-$205 million is not going to miraculously appear. … We need to have a good plan to put forward and we need to have people making good arguments for us … otherwise five years from now it will most probably be a referendum to remove the building because it will be 22 years of absolutely nothing happening in that space.” 

Several members of the public voiced support for the city to continue the option with Platz Associates, including Maine House District 16 Rep. Margaret Craven of Lewiston, who noted the building’s historical significance in the local economy and in the structure itself.

“Restarting the process would introduce delays and uncertainty at a time when stability is critical,” Craven said. Renewing the option, she said, would not be a blank check, but a strategy to move forward. “It could cause investors and future tenants to look for opportunities that are more stable.”  

Mayor Carl Sheline said the council’s vote represents a new path forward through collaboration between the city and Platz Associates.

“I think what’s missing for a lot of people is (understanding) the immense scale of this building and the great investment needed to develop it,” Sheline said. “It appears deceptively small from Main Street, but once inside, you begin to appreciate its Godzillian footprint. It is likely the largest empty building in Maine and, consequently, finding tenants has been difficult.”

The council unanimously approved the six-month extension.