South Portland voters will be asked this November to weigh in on an $87 million bond to construct new fire and police stations.
This comes after the City Council rejected a $194 million bond to renovate the former Mahoney Middle School property into a comprehensive City Center complex, including a renovated theater, gym and community space.
Under that proposal, a new police station would have been built on the former Mahoney athletic field. A new fire station was slated for construction on the department’s existing Broadway location.
Due to the high cost, however, the City has since moved in a different direction, as officials have indicated that the more sweeping plan could have resulted in as much as a 20 percent property tax hike for residents.
Earlier this week, the City entered into a contract to purchase the Cash Corner property most recently occupied by Walgreens with plans to use the site for a new police station, instead of the Mahoney athletic field.
No tax increases or budgetary accommodations were necessary to cover the land’s purchase price of $2.5 million, as the City opted to make use of $1.5 million in Police Asset Forfeiture funds and $1 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds, both of which were previously earmarked for city facilities.
Finalization of the sale is dependent upon approval from the City Council later this month.
Should the bond to build new police and fire stations be approved by residents later this year, South Portland City Manager Scott Morelli has said that a new police station located on the Cash Corner property would be completed by 2028.
Police Chief Dan Ahern explained to other local news outlets that the new police station would likely feature updated facilities for the officers, a break room, an updated gym, and a more professional way to handle and store evidence, among other amenities.
Concerns have been raised about the condition of the current facilities as officials look to avoid pouring money into properties that are already in rough shape.
“The building’s just old,” Chief Ahern told Spectrum News. “It’s kind of like an old car. You can keep replacing some parts, but at some point, the rust just becomes so prevalent that it’s no longer gonna pass inspection, it’s not gonna be road-worthy, and that’s the case here.”
According to the Portland Press Herald, the existing structure has about $1.5 million worth of deferred repairs.
City Manager Morelli also addressed the more general trade-off between investing in new construction and continuing to funnel money into the current buildings to solve existing problems.
“How much money are we going to put into each of these buildings and how much life does that get us? Versus if you build new or renovate now, that gets you a much longer life,” Morelli said, according to WGME.
The $87 million bond being put before voters in November would finance both the construction of a new police station on the Cash Corner property — replacing the building that previously housed Walgreens — and the rebuilding of the fire station on Broadway.
During a scheduled meeting next Thursday, March 19, 2026, council members are expected to consider whether or not the City will continue to pursue plans for a consolidated city services center of some sort at the former Mahoney Middle School. The infrastructure needs of the South Portland Library’s main location are also on the docket for that meeting.
