The Maine Army National Guard is one step closer to building a new energy-efficient readiness facility for its engineering unit in Presque Isle.
The Presque Isle Planning Board on May 18 approved the proposed 43,000 square foot facility at a 10-acre site in the Skyway Industrial Park, near Northern Maine Community College
The readiness center will be home to the Maine Army National Guard’s 185th Engineer Support Company, and it will replace an older building with significant repair needs currently used in Caribou, said Maj. Norman Stickney, Maine National Guard public affairs officer.
Construction on the $16.1 million building is slated to start next spring and finish by late 2019, with the National Guard company set to move in early in 2020, Stickney said.
Along with approval from the Presque Isle Planning Board, the project has secured a construction permit from the state fire marshal’s office. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is in the midst of completing an environmental review, Stickney said.
The readiness center will house a general purpose maintenance bay for servicing the engineering unit’s equipment and vehicles, as well as offices, an assembly hall, class rooms and a fitness room.
“The facility will contain the latest in sustainability features,” Stickney added. The building will be powered with a photovoltaic solar array and combined heat and power units that generate electricity and capture heat for the building.
The Maine National Guard’s 185th Engineer Support Company includes about 120 Guard members who are based at the main Caribou facility and a site in Houlton.
Stickney said that the unit is expected to grow to 150 members by the time the new building is complete. About 60 positions will remain in Houlton and about 90 positions will be stationed in Presque Isle.
The Maine Army National Guard also completed a new Army Aviation Readiness Center in Bangor in 2015, and there are plans for a readiness center for southern Maine in Saco.
