After Scarborough residents decried plans for a military facility off Route 1, Army officials aim to build in Saco.

Fearing a protracted and controversial process that could end without an approval, the Maine Army National Guard has decided to build a new $32.5 million facility in Saco instead of Scarborough.

The proposal first came forward last fall, but after two public sessions with Scarborough town officials, Col. Dwaine Drummond, the director of facilities for the guard, said it was clear there was little support in town for the project.

Drummond told the Current this week that in order to get funding for the new readiness center, which will replace the Stevens Avenue Armory in Portland, the guard needed to have legal control of its building site by the end of this month.

Since doing the project in Scarborough required either a contract zone or a zoning change, Drummond said, he was concerned about not being able to meet his June 30 deadline. In addition, he said, the new facility is already a permitted use in Saco.

The Maine Army National Guard’s proposed new facility in Saco actually consists of two separate projects – a new $17.5 million readiness center and a new $15 million maintenance garage.

“The readiness center will be solely in Saco,” Drummond said this week. “The Scarborough parcel required a rezoning action and during the course of public meetings it was clear there was a good-sized, vocal group that was not in favor of the project.”

While Drummond respects the right of Scarborough residents to voice their opinion, he said the guard simply could not take the chance the project would not be approved, since much of the future plans for the Army National Guard in Maine depend on the construction of a new facility.

Drummond said that Saco officials are “generally aware” of the project, but he has not yet begun the formal approval process. He said that would occur sometime next year after he receives funding for the design phase, which he expects to be included in the 2016 federal budget.

Both Tom Hall, Scarborough’s town manager, and Jessica Holbrook, chairwoman of the Town Council, said they were not surprised by the guard’s decision to put its new facility in Saco.

“The best I can say is that I’m not surprised they have chosen to move the project fully into Saco,” Holbrook told the Current Tuesday. “In Scarborough, the zoning does not permit that type of building and a contract zone would (be required). In Saco there are less hurdles and that would save the project money.”

And while Hall also said the guard’s choice to locate its new facility in Saco is not a surprise, he added, “we are pleased that the Maine Army National Guard was able to find a suitable location in Saco as the proposed facility will be a tremendous asset to this area.”

In addition, Hall said, “This is a win-win-win in that the guard can build the modern facility they need, (the University of New England) can expand at their Stevens Avenue campus and Scarborough doesn’t have to consider a controversial re-zoning request.”

As part of its plan to vacate the Stevens Avenue Armory, the guard agreed to a land swap with the University of New England, which purchased 29 acres of undeveloped land in Saco in exchange for the 9-acre armory site that sits next to the university’s Portland campus.

In a press release issued Monday, the university announced that the land swap had been completed and land deeds recording the change in ownership have been officially filed with the respective Registry of Deeds offices.

The press release called the land swap “a unique deal that will benefit both organizations.” Danielle Ripich, president of the University of New England, said in the release, “I credit both the guard and the team at UNE with working through the process to come to a mutually beneficial agreement. UNE will be able to expand its presence at the Portland campus and add much-needed space for programmatic growth, (and) the guard will get the space it needs to do its work.”

Brig. Gen. Gerard F. Bolduc, the acting adjutant general for the Maine Army National Guard, said, “The land swap will allow us the ability to create a state-of-the-art facility to serve the great citizens of Maine. The additional acreage in Saco allows for potential expansion and greater on-site training for our soldiers, (and) the location will provide safer access for our vehicles and equipment.”

Bill Bola, the vice president for operations at the University of New England, told the Current that it was “more expedient” for both the college and the guard not to have a Scarborough component to the proposed new readiness center.

That’s why the university let the option it had on nearly 25 acres of land in Scarborough, adjacent to the Saco line on Route 1, lapse and instead agreed to purchase 16 more acres of land in Saco for a total of 29.

Bola said while the guard project is not moving forward in Scarborough, it will be located just across the town line in Saco, although it may not be visible from the road.

While there are still many details to work out, he said, the university has no “immediate programmatic needs” for the Stevens Avenue Armory. Instead, Bola called the land swap “more of a strategic acquisition” and said it “provides (the university) an outlet for growth.”

The guard will still have some operations at the armory during the next few years, and Bola said the land swap has provided the university with more parking options.

Drummond said this week the “very earliest” the guard would get funding for construction would be in the 2018 federal fiscal year.