AUGUSTA — The state is entering negotiations with a Virginia firm and a Maine contractor in hopes that a deal can be struck to tear down the vacant former state Department of Transportation maintenance facility on Capitol Street and build a nearly 90,000-square-foot office building in its place.

If the parties can agree to terms, the new building would be leased back to the state to serve as the new main office for the state Department of Health and Human Services.

The 9.2-acre property at 109 Capitol St. sits prominently on a hill within a few hundred feet of the State House Complex.

State Bureau of General Services officials selected Arlington, Virginia-based FD Stonewater out of three teams that submitted their qualifications to the state for the project. If that developer works out a deal with the state, it would partner with Scarborough-based Landry/French Construction, which built the building leased to the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Labor near the Portland International Jetport, and Virginia architectural firm HGA Architects and Portland-based Mark Mueller Architects.

City officials hope that the developer will do more than create a plain state office building on the site, given its prominence in the city and proximity to the State House.

“That property is very significant to the city and state. It’s one of the most visible and accessible properties to the Capitol,” said Keith Luke, the city’s deputy director of development services.

“Where it is situated, the development potential there is extraordinary. What happens there, with the scope and nature of the design, is going to influence how people experience the Maine Capitol for generations.”

He said city officials plan to meet with FD Stonewater officials Monday to discuss the project.

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

kedwards@centralmaine.com

Twitter: kedwardskj