The city of Bangor has ordered power be shut off from at least part of the Bangor Mall, which is now also facing a $1 million fine.
City officials recently fined the mall’s owners for a series of allegedly serious code violations.
The New York-based company that owns and operates the mall says despite the challenges it intends to keep the shopping space open.
A city spokesman told News Center Maine that officials were “left with no choice” but to take enforcement action after weeks of communication with ownership about ongoing issues.
The wing formerly anchored by Sears was closed Thursday, with lights turned off and a notice posted at the entrance deeming the area condemned and unfit for human habitation.
The closure, according to Namdar Realty Group, who owns the mall, stems from roof issues following recent snowstorms.
Mall officials said they’ve been working with the city to address concerns.
“The ownership of Bangor Mall takes its responsibility to the community, tenants, and visitors very seriously and remains fully committed to maintaining a safe, functional, and operational property,” Namdar Realty Group said in a statement.
More than $500,000 has been invested in the past year to stabilize and improve the property, according to the company, which added it is working with city officials to address health and safety concerns.
Amid the mall’s problems, a Bangor resident went to the shopping center to shoot some video for posterity.
Aaron Baker said on his Facebook post he doubts the mall will survive so he wanted to get some shots to share with out-of-town friends to remember its heyday.
“I decided to take a walk down memory lane at the Bangor Mall before it is shut down for good,” he said. “There is no going back to the bustling, people-filled mall of the 80s, 90,s and early 2000s. It’s hard to see it in such disrepair. I decided to video my walkthrough to send to a few of my friends who no longer live around here.”
Five minutes after he began shooting video, a mall security guard walked up to him and told him to stop.
“It’s public space,” Baker told him.
When Baker asked him why he couldn’t video the guard said “it’s a rule.”
The mall “seems to be on a highway to the dead zone,”Joey Dionne, a second-generation Maine broadcaster and brand manager for WCYY posted Thursday.
In the ongoing dispute with the city, the mall will need to be fully brought up to code by a deadline of June 15.
“If that doesn’t happen, the entire mall could be shut down,” Dionne said.”That outcome seems unlikely. But the Bangor Mall does seem destined to lose the faith of retailers as well as customers.”
Dionne said he’s afraid the once-bustling mall “is on the verge of becoming a zombie.”
Here is the YouTube video filmed by Aaron Baker:
