New Public Park Could Be Coming To Augusta K-Mart Plaza

For years, much of the space at the old K-Mart Plaza on Western Avenue in Augusta has remained vacant.

The plaza's anchor store, a Big K K-Mart, closed in December of 2019 and there have been a rotation of tenants in the adjacent smaller spaces and out buildings.  Some of the spaces, including the old K-Mart, have been used for temporary purposes.  Storage for the Maine CDC during the pandemic, hosting a concert put on by a local church, and the location of a Spirit Halloween store.

The owner of the plaza and developer Patriot Holdings have been working on several uses for the plaza,  They have also previously presented several of these ideas before the Augusta city council.  At one point, they were hoping to build a new self storage facility.  That plan, however, was ended because they were unable to get a required zoning change.  They have also attempted to entice a construction company to turn the building into apartments.  That plan was determined to not be economically feasible.

Their latest plan has a lot of people excited.

According to the KJ, the latest plan involves turning a portion of the plaza's large parking lot into a green space.  A portion of the lot would be used as a dog park, the other part of the green space would be used as a park / playground for families.

Considering the amount of residences a short walk (or drive) from the plaza, this seems like a great idea.

For the owner and the developer, the hope is that adding the parks to the plaza, which would bring people (potential customers) to the plaza, would make the empty retail spaces more attractive to potential tenants.

Check out concept pictures HERE

The City of Augusta will still need to make a zoning change in order for the plan to move forward.  At this time, the city council has not weighed in on whether or not they will approve that change.

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