WATERVILLE, Maine — Colby College wants to build a dormitory in the middle of downtown here, as part of its effort to help revitalize the city.
The college is eyeing 3/4 of an acre of land just off Main Street.
At its meeting Tuesday night, Waterville’s city council is expected vote on whether to let the city manager negotiate the sale of the parcel to Colby.
Ruth Jacobs Jackson, Colby’s spokesperson, says college officials have been meeting with Waterville leaders regularly to talk about ways of revitalizing downtown.
“When we were meeting with a group of Waterville leaders, one of the things that everyone agreed upon was that we needed more people downtown,” she says. “We needed more people on Main St.”
To make that happen, Colby is proposing a mixed-use building for the site, with a residence hall on the upper floor and retail space on the ground level.
If the two sides decide to move ahead with the purchase, the Waterville City Council would need to hold another vote to approve the sale.