Martin’s Point plans to build a new facility at the former Scarborough Commons, which burned last year.

Under a deal reached between property owner Richard Aube and Martin’s Point Health Care, the former Scarborough Commons office building on Route 1 is being demolished and a new health center will be put up in its place.

Fire destroyed the Scarborough Commons building 10 months ago, and town leaders are thrilled with a redevelopment proposal that will “add high-paying health-care jobs to our economic base and bring a high quality (project) back on the tax roll,” said Town Manager Tom Hall.

Dick Daigle, vice president of support services at Martin’s Point, said this week the project is still in “the very preliminary stages,” but the hope is to get site plan approval from the Planning Board sometime this fall and break ground next spring.

The announcement that Martin’s Point plans to build a new health-care center in Scarborough comes on the heels of the nonprofit withdrawing from a proposed redevelopment of the city-owned former Hamlin School site in South Portland.

After that idea received much negative feedback from neighbors and no support from the city, Daigle sent a letter to City Manager Jim Gailey in late May saying Martin’s Point had decided to “suspend our development proposal.”

Martin’s Point had approached the city of South Portland earlier this year about selling the former school site, saying it needed a larger facility to replace its offices in the city’s Knightville neighborhood.

Daigle said this week it’s not yet clear whether the new health center in Scarborough would lead to the closing of the Martin’s Point facility in South Portland, adding the agency has “not made a final decision.”

He said Martin’s Point was happy to reach a deal with Aube because the Scarborough Commons site at 153 U.S. Route 1 is “an ideal location in our view.”

With Route 1 in Scarborough already a “medical care corridor,” the new Martin’s Point health center, which will offer mostly primary care services, would be a great fit, Daigle said.

He also said that a signalized intersection that offers access to the Scarborough Commons site would be “great” for Martin’s Point patients and visitors.

Daigle also said the health agency was glad to enter into an agreement with Aube for his property on Route 1 because there are “not a lot of development opportunities” left on the highly developed roadway.

This would be the first facility for Martin’s Point in Scarborough. Daigle said under the deal, Aube would retain ownership of the land and the health-care agency would enter into a “long-term land lease.”

Daigle also said that although Martin’s Point is a nonprofit, it would pay real estate taxes to the town based on the combined value of the land and the new center.

He said the health-care company has other locations under a land lease and that the arrangement with Aube “meets our needs.” Aube could not be reached for comment before the Current’s print deadline.

Although no development plans have been filed with the town, preliminary discussions place the project in the 15,000- to 18,000-square-foot range, according to a press release issued late last week by the Scarborough Economic Development Corp.

In that press release, Hall said he and Karen Martin, the executive director at Scarborough Economic Development Corp., have been meeting with representatives of Martin’s Point and Aube regarding the proposed redevelopment project.

He also said that Scarborough officials toured the newest Martin’s Point facility in Gorham and were “impressed with the design and quality of the project” there.

Martin and Roxane Cole, the commercial broker representing Martin’s Point, worked together to bring all the parties to the table to get the deal done.

“While losing Scarborough Commons was a terrible blow to the community, the proposed Martin’s Point Health Care facility will bring new life to the site,” Hall said.

Martin said this week that the new health-care center would “add to our growing health-care sector, with a well-paid, highly skilled employee base.”

She also said the employees and patients that Martin’s Point brings in will “become customers for our local businesses. Equally as important is the fact that this location is great for Martin’s Point. The access to the site is excellent and we are confident that the facility will thrive.”

Martin said the property taxes Martin’s Point would pay to the town would depend on the final size of its new facility, but added, “I think it’s fair to say that a medical office will be valued at a higher rate per square foot than the previous office building.”

She also agreed with Daigle that Martin’s Point would be a good fit with the other health-care services in the area, including the Scarborough campus of Maine Medical Center, saying the new health center would “be very compatible with the other providers in the neighborhood.”

Overall, Martin said, “We are pleased that the property owner and a thriving, well-respected business, such as Martin’s Point, reached a deal that meets both of their needs.”

Ten months after a fire destroyed the Scarborough Commons office complex on Route 1, the building is coming down to make room for a new Martin’s Point Health Care facility.Staff photo by Kate Irish CollinsA construction crew is demolishing the remains of the Scarborough Commons office complex on Route 1 to make way for a new Martin’s Point Health Care center.Staff photo by Kate Irish Collins