LEWISTON – Maple Street probably won’t see its park returned, but councilors pledged Thursday night to find a new home downtown for youngsters to play. “I do not support putting the Maple Street back where it was,” Councilor Renee Bernier said. “I think we have to be realistic and find a better place.”

Instead, the former home to the park and nearby Ritz Cafe could be home to a parking garage designed to lure in a financial services development.

City Administrator Jim Bennett had very little to say about the development.

“Despite what some people think, we will not be releasing a name today,” Bennett said. It’s far from a sure thing at this point, and naming the potential developer would surely kill the deal, he said.

“You cannot do economic development publicly,” Bennett said. “When you try to, you end up losing the project.”

He did provide some details, however. The developer works in the financial sector and has been looking at expanding since August. The developer has settled on two choices – Lewiston and another in Florida.

At stake are 450 jobs, with starting annual salaries at $27,500. The developer would build a 50,000-square-foot building on the northeast corner of Lisbon and Maple streets.

“Parking is going to end up being the big issue,” said Lincoln Jeffers, assistant to the city administrator. The company will require 400 parking spaces, and Jeffers said there are only 100 left in the nearby Canal Street parking garage.

The city envisions using a lot at the corner of Maple and Park streets, the former home of the Ritz Cafe and a small park, for a new parking structure.

That brings the city into conflict with community activists from the Visible Community trying to get the small park put back.

“What the Visible Community is saying is we must put the park back and then they’ll talk to us about whether it’s the right place,” Bennett said. “I just don’t think it’s a wise use of city resources.”

Councilors said the site of a new park should be the first item a new downtown development committee considers.

Mill 5 pushed

Bennett also pushed for a new group to plot the future of Bates Mill No. 5. He said he’s included $3 million in the 2009 capital improvements plan to pay for demolition of that building.

“But that gives us plenty of time to start talking about it,” Bennett said. “I think this needs to be a full community conversation about that building. Everyone should feel free to say it’s a terrible idea if that’s what they feel.”

The massive building is the last part of the Bates Mill Enterprise Complex the city still owns. The site has been considered for a convention center for years, but nothing has happened.

That could change, Bennett said. Travis Soule, developer of the Cowan and Libbey Mills, has signed a letter of intent with a major hotel chain.

Most councilors said they were open for discussions. But Councilor Mark Paradis said Lewiston needs to preserve the building.

“We need to be more proactive than we have been,” Paradis said. “Whether it’s a convention center, a casino, a museum or anything else, we need to get something going.”

He suggested convening a group of local developers to discuss the building.