Stevens Commons land donated to Hallowell for fire station

HALLOWELL — The developer of the Stevens Commons mixed-use development has offered to donate land for a new fire station, city manager Nate Rudy announced July 10.

Matt Morrill, principal of Mastway Development LLC and lead developer for the Stevens Commons “as a gift to the citizens of Hallowell,” Rudy said in a news release. The station itself will be paid for with a gift from an anonymous donor, and construction will begin in the fall, Rudy said.

“The City Council and I have been developing our partnership since before I purchased the Stevens School property in 2016,” said Morrill, in the release. “This donation to allow for the timely construction of the fire station is the next logical step in fulfilling our mutual interest in seeing revitalization on this important and historic campus.” Stevens Commons is being developed on the campus of the former Stevens School on Winthrop Street.
City officials report that the gift of easily developable land fronting Winthrop Street will allow the project to begin immediately, and that preliminary designs are already being drawn to meet a construction completion deadline of April 2018. The goal is to design a building that prioritizes the fire department’s operational needs and also blends in with the surrounding neighborhood, said the news release. Rudy said, “Architect Rosie Curtis and Abby Laukka-Hardy from the construction firm Bruce Laukka Inc. have met twice with the Hallowell Fire Department to hear their ideas about operational capacity and layout of the new fire station.”
He also said that the design/build team will immediately begin coordinating civil engineering and site evaluation to find the best spot on the property for the fire station to be built, and expect to submit designs to City Council and the Hallowell Planning Board by September. Hallowell Mayor Mark Walker said he is excited and enthusiastic about the partnership, saying “the city has been very fortunate to receive another very generous gift. Thank you to Matt Morrill – this is truly an example of good citizenship as he develops Stevens Commons.”
“The two donated gifts present a rare opportunity for the community to build a new fire station at relatively little cost to the City,” the release said.
“I believe this is a win, win, win — for the city and its citizens, for the Stevens Commons with the new fire station front and center, and for our own Hallowell Fire Department,” said Walker.