GARDINER — Unless a relatively deep-pocketed developer comes forward soon, the building most heavily damaged in the massive July fire in downtown Gardiner could be demolished by winter.

Before it can be demolished, however, the owner of the roughly 150-year-old building at 235 Water St. has to show the city what he’ll do to make sure the building, which shares walls with neighboring structures, is the only one to come down.

Something has to be done to make the charred remnants of the building safe before it becomes burdened with the extra weight of snowfall this winter, according to an assessment of the building’s structure by Resurgence Engineering and Preservation, of Portland.

The firm warns, in its Oct. 19 report to Gardiner Main Street, that it is concerned about the cornice at the top of the Water Street facade of the building. It recommends the sidewalk below be covered and the cornice and rest of the facade stabilized “so that loose or missing cantilevered structural elements do not fall to the sidewalk below” during cleanup and stabilization efforts.

However, the building may end up being demolished, not stabilized.

Owner Wayne Chamberland, now a Connecticut resident but previously of Pittston, has submitted an application to the city for permission to demolish it.

He also has offered to give it to the city, but city officials have been reluctant in part because of a lack of money to redevelop it.

“It has been offered to the city, but the City Council is nowhere near ready to consider taking it over,” City Manager Scott Morelli said. “We appreciate the offer, but the city is not in a position to take the owner up on that offer at this time.”

Morelli said the city wants to work with the building owner to make sure that if it is demolished, buildings next to it won’t be damaged.

The city’s Historic Preservation Commission has delayed a decision on Chamberland’s request for a demolition permit, and it has requested a report from him indicating whether the demolition would affect the adjoining structures. The commission meets next in November.

The Resurgence report says structural steel or wood framing and new exterior-grade walls could be built to shore up and stabilize both 235 Water St. and the adjoining buildings.

Patrick Wright, director of Gardiner Main Street and economic development coordinator for the city, said it could cost roughly $50,000 to stabilize 235 Water St. to preserve it, at least through winter, for potential future development.

Chamberland, however, said he intends either to give the building to the city or to demolish it, at an estimated cost of $60,000 to $70,000. He said he’s not in a financial position to redevelop the building, which the Resurgence report estimated could cost $1.6 million.

“I want to do the right thing by the city,” Chamberland said Friday. “I don’t want to pull out and leave them with a headache.”

Keith Edwards can be contacted at 621-5647 or at:

kedwards@centralmaine.com