LIMESTONE, Maine — The Loring Development Authority and Fairpoint Communications have been discussing the possibility of moving the telecommunications system to a permanent facility, and the board recently gave president Carl Flora the authority to enter a long-term land-lease agreement with this in mind.
Additionally, Flora suggested an alternative solution in which Fairpoint could occupy a portion of the former Job Corps Data Center (Data Automation Building #5007) and use the other part of the facility for data storage or bring in another tenant who could co-occupy the building with them.
“We toured the facility with (Fairpoint) yesterday and found a scenario that could potentially work,” said Flora. “The fellow who is up here was very impressed with the facility; it’s in great condition. Job Corps actually left it with a fair amount of improvements, and we installed a new roof about a year ago. The big question is if it is advantageous or not to give Fairpoint the corner of a room in a building occupied by a third party, and if that presents a problem, logistically, for a future tenant.”
The LDA president asked the board how they would feel if Fairpoint were able to bring their own client into the building, adding that he would need to follow up to see if that is a possibility.
“I would think that could be a good mix with a third party, whoever they may be,” said Miles Williams. “If they came in and didn’t like the idea of sharing, would it take much to sectionalize the facility if that were to happen?”
Flora said that some of the logistical considerations associated with an additional tenant would be the potential need for two exits, and stated that they could build an exterior entrance separate from the other part of the building.
The board concluded that the main concern would likely be that there could be some tensions surrounding security with other tenants occupying the same facility.
Aside from security, Flora added that a “data facility might not necessarily deal with Fairpoint,” and instead decide to take advantage of a nearby Three Ring Binder project, which utilizes a fiber optics network.
The LDA’s fallback plan is to move a pre-cast communications building onto a site that is close to the supporting underground infrastructure. According to the meeting packet, this is a “small 24- by 10-foot structure that is placed on a compacted stone base.” It would be adjacent to a generator building and the agreement would involve a 10-year land lease with three 10-year renewal options. Flora also indicated that Fairpoint “expects to pay a rental fee for the land,” and hopes to complete the project this fall.
If an agreement can be reached for co-occupation of the former Job Corps Data Center, Flora said the matter would have to be brought back to the board for further discussion.
