The Planning Board for the Town of Brunswick gave Bowdoin an initial approval to build a new three-story office building at 216 Maine Street and final approval to convert the former Stevens Retirement Home on Harpswell Road into chem-free student housing.
At the meeting Tuesday night, the board was unanimous in its support for the office’s 3,440-square-foot sketch plan. It will revisit the plan for final approval on March 25.
The College’s projected budget is $3.2 million, with $2.4 million in construction costs. The building will be silver LEED-certified, but will not be carbon neutral or “net-zero,” according to Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer Katy Longley. After acquiring the Maine Street office building in 2007, the College used it to house a digital media lab and visual art rooms before the Robert H. and Blythe Bickel Edwards Center for Art and Dance opened for use in Fall 2013.
“When we had to vacate people from McLellan to new offices we thought it would be a good place to build a modest administrative office,” said Longley.
In 2011 the College exchanged the McLellan Building with the town as part of the purchase of the Longfellow School, now the Edwards Center for Art and Dance.
The College maintains a 10-year lease on the third floor of the McLellan Building. The staff that used to work on the first two floors will move into the new building upon its completion.
The town’s renovation of the former McLellan Building is scheduled to be completed in November, with staff moving in after Thanksgiving break.
The College’s new building would house about 30 employees of the Controller’s Office, the Office of Student Aid and the Human Resources Department.
A small number of parking spaces will be added to the back of the building. Staff will also be able to park at the spots at the nearby McLellan Building. The College House parking spaces on Maine Street that are being converted to visitor and staff parking will also be available to the 30 employees in the new building.
The Planning Board’s final approval of the renovations to the former the retirement home at 52 Harpswell Road means the project will continue on schedule. The building—acquired in June 2013—will provide chem-free housing for 35 upperclassmen students in both single and double rooms.
Renovations are scheduled to begin in March and be completed by August, in time for students to move in for the 2014-2015 academic year. The project budget is currently $1.9 million.
Longley said that the building was chosen to be turned into new student housing because of its location near the College and because it already had rooms that could easily be converted into dorm rooms.
“It’s in really good shape inside so we were excited about using that for student housing,” Longley said.
The decision to make it chem-free came from the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs; Longley cited noise concerns for the neighbors as one of the considered factors.
The College plans to add a new organic garden in the backyard, to be certified by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. The building will be LEED certified, with high efficiency heating, LED lighting, low flow bathroom fixtures, and other environmentally friendly renovations. A lighted path will lead from Farley Field House to the building.
The Planning Board for the Town of Brunswick gave Bowdoin an initial approval to build a new three-story office building at 216 Maine Street and final approval to convert the former Stevens Retirement Home on Harpswell Road into chem-free student housing.
At the meeting Tuesday night, the board was unanimous in its support for the office’s 3,440-square-foot sketch plan. It will revisit the plan for final approval on March 25.
The College’s projected budget is $3.2 million, with $2.4 million in construction costs. The building will be silver LEED-certified, but will not be carbon neutral or “net-zero,” according to Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer Katy Longley. After acquiring the Maine Street office building in 2007, the College used it to house a digital media lab and visual art rooms before the Robert H. and Blythe Bickel Edwards Center for Art and Dance opened for use in Fall 2013.
“When we had to vacate people from McLellan to new offices we thought it would be a good place to build a modest administrative office,” said Longley.
In 2011 the College exchanged the McLellan Building with the town as part of the purchase of the Longfellow School, now the Edwards Center for Art and Dance.
The College maintains a 10-year lease on the third floor of the McLellan Building. The staff that used to work on the first two floors will move into the new building upon its completion.
The College's construction of the 216 Maine Street building is scheduled to be completed in November, with staff moving in after Thanksgiving break.
The College’s new building would house about 30 employees of the Controller’s Office, the Office of Student Aid and the Human Resources Department.
A small number of parking spaces will be added to the back of the building. Staff will also be able to park at the spots at the nearby McLellan Building. The College House parking spaces on Maine Street that are being converted to visitor and staff parking will also be available to the 30 employees in the new building.
The Planning Board’s final approval of the renovations to the former the retirement home at 52 Harpswell Road means the project will continue on schedule. The building—acquired in June 2013—will provide chem-free housing for 35 upperclassmen students in both single and double rooms.
Renovations are scheduled to begin in March and be completed by August, in time for students to move in for the 2014-2015 academic year. The project budget is currently $1.9 million.
Longley said that the building was chosen to be turned into new student housing because of its location near the College and because it already had rooms that could easily be converted into dorm rooms.
“It’s in really good shape inside so we were excited about using that for student housing,” Longley said.
The decision to make it chem-free came from the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs; Longley cited noise concerns for the neighbors as one of the considered factors.
The College plans to add a new organic garden in the backyard, to be certified by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. The building will be LEED certified, with high efficiency heating, LED lighting, low flow bathroom fixtures, and other environmentally friendly renovations. A lighted path will lead from Coffin Parking Lot to the building.
Correction, February 28, 1:10 p.m.: The print edition inaccurately stated that the former Mclellan building will be completed in November, with staff moving in after Thanksgiving break—the online edition has been corrected to show that that is instead the timeline for the College's new 216 Maine Street building. Additionally, the lighted path will lead from Coffin Parking Lot to the new dorm, not from Farley Field House.