The new regional headquarters planned for the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife in Gray will roughly double the size of its current office space and give the public easier and more comfortable access to the department’s services.

The $1.3 million facility, to be located on a new site about a quarter-mile from its building on Route 26, will provide the department with a much-needed upgrade, according to Adam Gormely, lieutenant with the department. It should be ready by next May.

The department has three roles. It promotes hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing and enjoyment of the Maine outdoors through land stewardship and wildlife research. It helps develop and enforce regulations relating to hunting and fishing, and also provides safety courses for the public. The Warden’s Service, a branch of the department, enforces laws related to outdoor recreation and is involved in search and rescue.

Gormely said the regional headquarters in Gray is “currently housed in a building from the 1970s. It was never really intended to allow for expansion of our agency, so we have really outlived the usefulness of the building.”

The staff in the office have run into problems with mold, mildew and poor drainage, he said.

A few years ago, the department did a feasibility study of expanding and upgrading the  building versus constructing a new building on a different site. It decided to start from scratch, Gormely said.

The department’s new facility will be located on Game Farm Road, roughly one-quarter mile from the current facility on Route 26. The Maine State Police barracks and the Gray Wildlife Park are also located on Game Farm Road.

The facility will include conference rooms and office and storage space.

The building has been designed to allow for a separation of the spaces open to the public and private offices, something the current facility lacks, Gormely said. Public areas will include a lobby and two meeting rooms. The private space has separate office areas for staff.

The public areas of the facility will be open for those who are looking to tag furs or speak with a wildlife or fisheries biologist or a game warden, according to John MacDonald, public relations officer for the department.

“We really need that separation,” Gormely said. “We need the ability to interact with the public, and a reasonable space where information and pamphlets are available to accommodate people’s questions.” The staff needs private office areas, too, to conduct “secured business,” he said.

In designing the building, Gormely said the department considered the needs of its three primary roles and what officials think “we’ll need in the future.”

The facility will be approximately 7,200 square feet, compared to the 4,000 square feet of the current headquarters. Construction costs are estimated at $1.3 million, according to Rick Parker, director of engineering for the department.

Portland-based PDT Architects is the firm behind the design.

The department is accepting bids for the project until Oct. 20, when a bid opening will be held in Augusta and a bid will be chosen. Parker said he expects construction on the project to begin Nov. 7, and the new facility will be completed in May.

The engineering crew for the department has already begun site work to clear and level land, he said.

The old facility on Route 26 will be demolished by the department’s engineering crew, Parker said.

The design plan for a new Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife regional office in Gray features more spaces for the public as well as private offices, according to officials.