March 12th, 2025 by WCBC Radio

The cost of building materials is causing developers to slow business plans nationwide.  It’s also the case with interest in the former Memorial Hospital site. At Tuesday’s Cumberland Economic Development Corporation meeting, the board decided to pause efforts on finding a developer. Executive Director Matt Miller said 25 parties responded with interest in the site, but none submitted an official proposal…

   

“I talked with several of the larger developers that expressed interest in that and that was something that of their highest level of concern was what the industry is going to do in the next 3 to 6 months – how things shake out at the federal level.”

Miller said that most of the parties remain interested in the project, opening the door to more talks…

   

“In preliminary conversations I had, I do believe that there is an appetite to have these discussions with developers to get a better understanding of what potential partnerships could look like to develop the site.”