LePage ally may have best chance for lease on state facility
Source: Bangor Daily News
AUGUSTA, Maine Gov. Paul LePages administration wants to consolidate state agencies in a massive leased facility with more space than the capitals Wal-Mart once its built.
But because the states request for proposals released Saturday demands that the building or buildings be within a mile of the State House, only one person may be able to build it: Peter Anastos, a Yarmouth hotelier allied with the Republican governor.
Anastos gained the right to purchase the state-owned former Maine Department of Transportation garage on Capitol Street earlier this year, and Keith Luke, Augustas deputy development director, identified it as perhaps the only property that could fit the administrations proposal.
The state is asking for a new 225,000-square-foot facility that would change Augustas face: Almost 1,400 state employees would work there, and the state wants the owner to provide 1,300 parking spaces. The new leased state office could open in 2018, according to materials attached to the states request for proposal. Proposals are due in February.
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Read more: http://bangordailynews.com/2015/10/28/politics/lepage-ally-has-best-chance-for-lease-on-major-state-facility/