Jun. 17—AUBURN — A small building holding more than a decade’s worth of memories came crashing down Monday on Chestnut Street, but a new, much-larger one will soon take its place.

Crews demolished the original Auburn PAL Center building Monday ahead of the July groundbreaking for a new, $9 million facility that will be built over the next year.

The new 14,000-square-foot PAL Center, approved by the Planning Board early this year, will feature a full-size gym and commercial kitchen. Starting in 2013, the original PAL Center became a popular after-school drop-in place for Auburn youth.

City Manager Phil Crowell, who spearheaded the original project when he was a member of the Auburn Police Department, said the demolition Monday was “bittersweet.”

He said when officials first came across the building 12 years ago, “it was a mess,” but with a $40,000 grant and support from the community, “we were able to open the doors and serve a ton of kids.”

“But, it’s exciting too because we know what the future is going to look like, with programming and added community initiatives,” he said.

Crowell said the groundbreaking is four weeks out, with a goal for the new facility to be open by August 2025. Programming at the new center likely wouldn’t begin until school is back in session, he said.

The new building was developed by Woodard & Curran and Simons Architects, and received considerable federal money secured by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.

The site plan includes a new traffic pattern that closes Chestnut Street to through traffic and creates a parking area and pedestrian walkways. The street closure, while deemed necessary by officials for a safer and more well-designed project, was opposed by many residents, but was ultimately approved by the City Council.

During discussions on the project, Crowell said the half square mile area around the PAL Center drives a quarter of police calls in Auburn, and having the youth center’s presence was “critical.”

He also said Auburn has a “tremendous food insecurity issue,” and as a drop-in center, children can walk there after school, access food, homework help or other services.

According to previous Sun Journal reporting, the city allocated $3 million from its allotment of the American Rescue Plan Act toward the project, which was matched by federal spending secured by Collins.

The previous City Council approved $1.5 million in bonds, and also allocated the final $1.5 million from the city’s undesignated fund balance, or “rainy day fund.” The PAL board of directors hopes to partner with local sponsors to raise additional funding for equipment, furniture, supplies and programming.

Landry French is the primary contractor for the project.

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