Auburn unveils Police Activities League community center

People watch as two people cut a ribbon outside of a building.

Photo / Courtesy Office of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, helped cut the ribbon on Auburn’s $9 million Police Activities League community center for at-risk children.

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By Laurie Schreiber

A year after breaking ground, the city of Auburn cut the ribbon on its Police Activities League community center at 24 Chestnut St.

“For 12 years, the PAL Center has served at-risk children in the heart of our city,” said Phil Crowell, the city’s manager. “And the positive impact has been profound. With the opening of this incredible new facility, the PAL Center will continue to serve, support, and inspire Auburn’s kids and families for generations to come.”

Crime data

The community center shaped up 13 years ago, when the Auburn Police Department looked at four years of crime data and found that 23% of all crimes committed by youth offenders in Auburn took place within an area of less than half a square mile; 25% of all police calls for service and 28% of all youth victims were victimized in the same area.

In an effort to transform the statistics and provide positive, horizon-broadening experiences for at-risk youth in the city, the police department and the city established the Auburn Police Activities League and the city council turned over a vacant city lot at 24 Chestnut St., in the half-square-mile area identified by crime data

In the spring of 2013, the Auburn PAL Center opened. The modest building provided educational and athletic activities for children after school and during the summer, along with positive interaction with police officers.

Expanded facility

But it became apparent that an enhanced, expanded facility was needed, Crowell said last year.

At 14,000 square feet, the $9 million center is about five times larger than the original, which was demolished. It includes a dedicated space for teens, a full-sized basketball court, multipurpose areas, meeting and storage rooms and a commercial kitchen. Plans are in the works to build an outdoor playground in the coming months.

The center was partly funded by $3 million in congressionally directed spending, secured by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, through the fiscal year 2023 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill.

Woodard & Curran in Portland and Simons Architects in Portland were the engineer and architect, and the general contractor was Landry/French Construction in Scarborough.