The town is preparing to celebrate the long-awaited razing of the shabby gas station in Gorham Village.

Gorham developer Jon Smith of Great Falls Construction said the vacant gas station at 109 Main St. would be torn down on Saturday, June 13. Demolition will make way for a new, commercial building housing a Subway Restaurant and an Aroma Joe’s coffee shop.

Smith is inviting businesses and residents to participate in a fundraiser associated with demolition of the old gas station to raise money for 15 local charitable groups.

Smith said that sponsors would have a chance to attack the building and even residents offering donations could “take a swing.”

“The idea is to provide a little town therapy taking this down,” Smith said.

The two-bay gas station was built in 1940, according to Gorham tax records. The dilapidated gas station, located at the intersection where New Portland Road and Mechanic Street converge with Main Street, has been vacant for years. It has long been an eyesore at the eastern gate to downtown Gorham.

A town celebration of the demolition appears to be on tap.

“Everyone is thrilled,” Gorham Zoning Administrator David Galbraith said Tuesday.

Smith is planning a demolition after-party at Spire 29 On The Square in Gorham to raise additional charitable donations and he said “eyesore ale” from Sebago Brewing would be available on tap. Smith said T-shirts are being designed at NESA Inc. in Gorham that will commemorate the historic demolition occasion.

Besides the gas station, two other buildings in downtown Gorham could be leveled in the future. With an eye to alleviate a parking shortage downtown, the town bought properties in 2012 at 21 Main St. for $169,900 and 10 Preble St. for $239,900. But municipal parking plans for the two sites haven’t materialized.

The town has agreed to sell 21 Main St. to Reali Realty LLC, doing business as Amato’s, for $155,000. The historic house is next door to Amato’s Gorham location at 3 Main St.

Reali Realty went to the Gorham Planning Board Monday to begin talks of demolishing 21 Main St. to expand parking at Amato’s. Caitlyn C. Abbott of Sebago Technics presented plans for Reali Realty.

Under the proposal, 28 parking spaces would be added and a right-turn exit onto Main Street is being sought. The additional parking spaces would be accessed from Amato’s parking lot on South Street.

Before the house at 21 Main St. can be razed, the town must be notified in writing 90 days in advance, allowing any interested party to move the old house. Gorham Planner Tom Poirier said in Tuesday’s meeting the house would be free.

Judith Hawkes of Scarborough, who grew up in the house, said Wednesday it is about 150 years old and was once a tailor shop.

“It’s a beautiful property,” Hawkes said. “Taking it down will take the center out of the village. It’s such a shame.”

Last month, the Town Council extended the sales agreement with Reali, which expired on March 31, to July 31 so Reali could have time to obtain Planning Board approval. The Town Council had approved the agreement in January and it rejected efforts by Vice Chairman Bruce Roullard, chairman of Gorham’s Historical Preservation Committee, to prevent the old house from being razed or moved.

Hawkes said the town didn’t put the sale of the property out to bid, and her daughter was interested in bidding. She said the property has potential, and she said one party was interested in it as a teen center.

The town also owns the 21?2 story house at 10 Preble St., but its future is undetermined.

It was built in 1900, according to Gorham tax records. Its lot is one-third of an acre and the town is retaining a portion of it. The town solicited requests for proposals for the property and permitted uses included residential or for business and professional offices.

The town received only one bid for the property, but the Town Council on Monday rejected the offer from Doug and Holly Carter, a business couple who wanted to buy the house.

The council vote was 3-4 with Roullard, Ronald Shepard, Chairman Michael Phinney and Sherrie Benner opposed to accepting the offer.

Doug Carter owns Carter’s Auto Service on Railroad Avenue in downtown Gorham and his wife, Holly, owns Carter’s Green Market on Main Street. The Carters’ plans would have included relocating her market to the Preble Street location which, he said, would be more accessible for customers.

In its proposal to buy 10 Preble St., the Carters offered $10,000 with plans to spend $170,000 to upgrade the property and an additional $50,000 to install a sprinkler system in the building.

“The structure of the building is not that bad,” Doug Carter said Wednesday.

Carter said the town needs more retail space.

“I hope the town does something with it,” Carter said.

Phinney said the lot is worth $90,000. A sale of the building would return it to the tax rolls.

Now, the town faces disposition of the property with options that could include re-advertising it to allow retail use or razing the house.

“We either have to demolish the building or sell it,” Town Councilor Shonn Moulton said.

Gorham has agreed to sell this home at 21 Main St. to Amato’s, which would use the site for new parking.Staff photo by Robert LowellThe demolition of the vacant Gorham gas station at 109 Main St. on June 13 will be turned into a fundraising opportunity for local nonprofits. Staff photo by Robert Lowell