Augusta Shopping Center Could Soon Get a Major Overhaul

For decades, the Augusta Plaza was one of Central Maine’s premiere strip malls.

Constructed in 1962, it was once home to an A&P grocery store.  Later, the plaza’s anchor store was a K-Mart department store.  In fact, because of the popularity of K-Mart, many people began calling the Augusta Plaza the K-Mart shopping center or the K-Mart plaza.

Sadly, the shopping center was never the same after the December 2019 closure of K-Mart.

Additionally, the economic strain of the COVID-19 pandemic did not help matters much.

Over the last few years, we have seen the emergence of several redevelopment plans for the plaza.  While most of these, like the plan to turn the space into self-storage units, failed due to zoning issues, some were approved.  Turning the long-closed Friendly’s location into a pad site and the plan to construct a new location for an automotive parts store, for example.

Developers are working on a new plan to breathe life into the 56 Western Avenue spot.

According to the KJ, a $40 million plan being promoted by George Campbell would turn the plaza into a mixed-use site.

The development would be called the Capitol Heights Center Project.

The development would feature a hotel with a rooftop bar/restaurant, an apartment complex, retail spaces, and an additional spot for a fast-food restaurant.  Based on the map featured on the KJ website, it appears that there would also be several green spaces in the development.

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The redevelopment would not affect businesses on the side of Western Avenue, like Wendy’s and Sunrise Bagel.  The same goes for the auto parts store that is currently being constructed in the plaza’s parking lot.

The one part of the plan that could become an issue is the height of the hotel.  The building would be about 85 feet tall.  Current zoning only allows buildings that are a maximum of 42 feet in height.  However, zoning does allow for taller buildings as conditional uses.

The Augusta Planning Board will meet in the council chambers to discuss the matter at 6 PM on Tuesday.

What is your opinion?  Do you like the idea?  What would you like to see the Augusta Plaza become?