COURTESY / CITY OF PORTLAND
An aerial photo shows the former Fort McKinley Hospital on Great Diamond Island, Portland.
March 6, 2024
Portland seeks proposals for redevelopment of Fort McKinley hospital property
COURTESY / CITY OF PORTLAND
A 2019 view of the Fort McKinley Hospital building on Great Diamond Island
A former hospital building dating back to 1903, on Great Diamond Island in Casco Bay, is the subject of a request for proposals issued by the city of Portland this week.
Fort McKinley Hospital is the last city-owned property in what was once a U.S Army complex, and the last part that hasn’t been redeveloped.
The 5,300-square-foot, three-story brick building has been vacant since the 1960s, and now sits derelict and boarded up.
The city is seeking an adaptive reuse of the property and is looking for proposals with commercial, residential or mixed-use goals. The reuse would have to be in line with historic preservation standards and compatible with surrounding property — a private, gated community of million-dollar houses and townhouses called Diamond Cove.
Cooperation with the Diamond Cove Homeowners Association will be key to redeveloping the hospital property, according to a news release.
The property has water views and is located on one of the highest points of the island, which is about 2 miles off the Portland waterfront. The building is included in the Fort McKinley National Register Historic District and is designated as a contributing structure within the city’s local historic district.
Both the city and the homeowners association would like the existing hospital building preserved to the maximum extent possible, according to the release.
As a contributing property in a local historic district, exterior alterations to the property will be subject to review under the city’s historic preservation ordinance. State and federal historic tax credits might be available to support the redevelopment.
The property was foreclosed by the city for non-payment of property taxes in the 2003 fiscal year. In May 2007, the city entered into a purchase-and-sale agreement with David Bateman, of Portland-based Bateman Properties LLC, for two separate properties — the former Double Barracks and the hospital building. Bateman paid $1 for the rights to acquire them.
Bateman had been acquiring properties at the 111-acre fort since the 1980s, converting them develop dozens of homes.
Bateman developed the Double Barracks property as the Inn at Diamond Cove. However, the agreement to acquire the hospital building expired in 2019.
Proposals will be reviewed by a city staff evaluation committee, including representatives of the Diamond Cove Homeowners Association’s board of directors, that will score proposals based on the best opportunity for negotiating the highest quality and most appropriate use of the property.
The scoring will be forwarded to the Portland City Council’s Housing and Economic Development Committee for review and possible recommendation to the council, which has the final say on any sale or disposition of the property.
For more information, contact the city at purchasing@portlandmaine.gov or 207-874-8654. Proposals are due by March 14, 3:30 p.m.
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