The Old “Y” Building In Bangor Is Coming Down

Like countless others who grew up in the Bangor area, I remember spending a lot of time at the old YMCA building on Hammond Street.

That is until the Bangor "YMCA" and the Bangor "YWCA" merged in 2008, and ultimately moved all the newly formed "Bangor Y" operations to the renovated space off of Second Street a few years later.

At one point, according to the Bangor Daily News, a couple of different organizations leased the old Y building on Hammond Street, including Young's MMA and the CityReach Church. But once those vacated the building, for many years it pretty much stood empty.

Until the City of Bangor finally condemned the building in 2017. That's when folks with the County stepped in and purchased it.

The Penobscot County originally intended to use the space, according to Fox 22, as either overflow housing for inmates at the Jail, or transitional/affordable housing units.

But when those ideas didn't come to fruition, Fox said in April of last year that the County tried to sell off that particular chunk of real estate, as it had fallen into disrepair.

It appears no one was interested in undertaking such a large project, so this week demolition crews started to break down the old building and prepare it for demolition.

County Administrator, Scott Adkins, says there's no set plan on what to do with the space, once the building is down.

"At this time, there are no concrete plans other than to create a 'blank slate'!!  The County had tried to market the building, but the demo part of any project really pushed people away.  With the location, it certainly makes a great opportunity for any housing or local resource needs."

Asked whether the County still plans to sell the property once the demolition is complete, Adkins replied,

"The Commissioners are open to discussions on all possibilities!!"

Adkins says it should take crews between 6 and 8 weeks to tear down the remaining parts of the building and remove all the debris.