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V O L . X X V I N O. X X V O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 20 M I D C O A S T / D OW N E A S T T he breathtaking view across omaston Green overlooking the St. George River has been open for 18 years. Before that, it was blocked by the massive brick bulk of the Maine State Prison, on the site for 178 years. While breathtaking views are great, they don't pay the bills. When the town bought the land in 2005, the plan was to develop it and sell it. A 2006 market analysis estimated developing the site would bring $16 million to the town's revenue stream. omaston, in 2020, could use the money. e 2019 property tax rate was $20.93 per $1,000 valuation (the state weighted average was $15.06). Despite that, development of the 15.6 acres on U.S. Route 1 is more up in the air than it's ever been. Voters at the Sept. 15 annual town meeting rejected a proposal by Avesta Housing. e Portland non- profit offered $100,000 for 2.25 acres to build 48 units of senior housing. e project would have brought in $55,000 a year in taxes. Voters also shot down a proposal from local group home Coastal Opportunities, which sought 0.75 acres. e two proposals were the first since 2011. "We're a town of 2,700, we've got to do something," says Bill Hahn, P H O T O / M A U R E E N M I L L I K E N Where's the development? Thomaston still looking for the right idea for former state prison site B y M a u R e e n M i l l i k e n Bill Hahn, a Thomaston selectman and chair of the economic development committee, has been on the forefront of the town's effort to develop the former Maine State Prison site. F O C U S P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y T H O M A S T O N H I S T O R I C A L S O C I E T Y P H O T O S / M A U R E E N M I L L I K E N FAR LEFT: Development efforts, including one for a 48-unit senior housing complex, fell through. NEAR LEFT: Thomaston Green is used for community events, but is considered an underused asset. The former Maine State Prison in Thomaston was torn down in 2002 and the town bought the 15.6-acre site in 2005. Efforts to redevelop the site are still in the works.