After years of negotiations with Portland Plastic Pipe, USM purchased the property for $1.95 Million. Since its founding in 1975, the company has found itself surrounded by USM property. Portland Plastic Pipe will relocate in South Portland over the next 18 months. Presently located at 53 Winslow St., Portland Plastic Pipe is the building next to the USM police department. USM has been waiting for this opportunity to expand for years.
Fred Olsen, Portland Plastic Pipe founder and president, made it clear the business will remain open for business during the transition period. They will continue to provide their services in South Portland once they have moved.
“Fred Olsen has built a successful business that is well known and respected,” wrote USM President Richard Pattenaude in a memo from Robert Caswell, Executive Director of the Office of Public Affairs. “So it was important to us that Fred and his employees have the ability to continue operations and then relocate to a viable commercial site.? At the same time, his?property on Winslow Street is absolutely essential to our plans for development of?University Commons which will provide the campus and?off-campus communities with access to educational and cultural?resources.? I want to thank Fred publicly for working with us to?come up with an agreement.”
According to Caswell, all of the new renovations are meant to draw more full time, graduate and transfer students.
“The quality of campus is very important in recruiting students,” said Caswell.
Portland Plastic Pipe and the current USM Police Department building will be ripped down to begin excavation. After an architect is chosen, exact design work can start on the University Commons. Once chosen, the architect will work with the committee to develop plans so as that they can be submitted tot he city of Portland for approval. According to Caswell, the project will take approximately three years.
Prospects for USM’s expansion include the Abramson Community Education Center, the site for the national headquarters of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and the USM Muskie School of Public Service. All of these expansions are part of USM’s “University Commons.” This new development for the University will also include a park-like green space that faces Bedford Street, but will be shielded from the traffic or I-295 by the new buildings that will be erected. The area of land for use goes from the new parking garage to Forest Ave and from I-295 to Bedford Street. “We have to respect the current borders of campus and bordering neighborhoods” said Caswell.
According to Caswell, this expansion is also going renovate the first floor of the Glickman Family Library by stretching it out to accommodate a larger space for the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education.
All of the new buildings will be connected by skywalks from the Glickman Family Library to the parking garage.