WAL*MART DISTRIBUTION CENTER CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Paul Badeau
Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council
784-0161
October 14, 2004
(LEWISTON, Me.) – Construction crews have begun preparing 130 acres of land for construction of an 850,000-square-foot Wal*Mart Mechanized Food Distribution Warehouse in Lewiston, Maine. When completed, the project will be Maine’s largest distribution center to date, and one of the largest ever built by Wal*Mart. Project partners and local, state and company officials gathered on October 5 to break ground on the project.
The $60 million project will be built in two phases. A dry box warehouse will be constructed first and is expected to be complete by next fall. Construction will begin next summer on the second phase, a refrigerated warehouse, and be operational by fall of 2006.
“The Wal Mart Distribution Center is the largest economic development project in Lewiston in 30 years,� said Greg Mitchell, Assistant City Administrator. “It’s a mammoth project by any measure, from jobs to square footage to investment dollars. Bulldozers are pushing 1.7 million cubic yards of dirt at a furious pace to prepare this site.�
When both phases are complete, the distribution center will employ a minimum of 450 people with a $12 million payroll, making the center one of the 10 largest employers in Lewiston. The Maine State Planning office has estimated the secondary impacts, the so-called “multiplier effect� of the project, will result in the creation of an additional 475 jobs with a combined payroll of $11 million. These additional jobs will generate an estimated $7.5 million in retail sales, $3.7 million in wholesale sales, and $16.5 million in service expenditures.
Facing stiff competition from other communities in Maine and New England, the City of Lewiston worked in partnership with Maine and Company, a quasi-governmental organization charged with recruiting new businesses and facilities to the state, and the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council to land the deal. Other partners included Central Maine Power Company, the Maine Department of Transportation, and the Maine Turnpike Authority.
The Lewiston City Council approved the initial agreement in December 2001, including a tax increment financing agreement to return 50 percent of the real property real estate taxes to the company for 20 years. The City will net an average of $500,000 annually in property taxes.
The Maine Department of Transportation and Maine Turnpike Authority agreed to pay for the relocation of a portion of the abutting Alfred Plourde Parkway and other necessary road and turnpike interchange improvements related to the project.
“This project will generate an estimated $1.75 million annually in state tax revenues, including $500,000 in Fuel Tax Revenues,� said David Cole, Commissioner of MDOT. “This project creates jobs for Maine people, generates more than $2 million annually in state and local taxes, and provides the infrastructure for future investment.�
Central Maine Power Company made major investments to improve electrical service, building a new substation with a dedicated circuit for the new facility and two new circuits to service additional development for the area.
The distribution center is the first page in a new chapter of development in Lewiston. The city has designated the industrially zoned area of South Lewiston as a Pine Tree Zone, part of a statewide initiative encouraging development through tax reimbursements and other incentives.
“Lewiston is getting a state-of-the-art distribution center that will provide Wal*Mart the opportunity to better serve the growing number of customers who shop at our stores in the New England region,� said John Hay, Senior Real Estate Manager for Wal*Mart. “The city has been great to work with and has been with us every step of the way. During our research, we were impressed with the quality of the work force in Lewiston and this project represents our continued commitment to Maine as a partner in both community and economic development.�
W.H. Lane, Inc., of Binghamton, N.Y., is the general contractor, while H.E. Sargent, Inc., of Stillwater, Me., is the site contractor.
