LEWISTON — The Pepperell Mill is going up for auction. 

The 162-year-old mill complex will be sold Friday. The site includes nine acres at 550 Lisbon St. and multiple buildings with a total of 360,000 square feet. 

Bob Gladu, who has co-owned the property with Ralph Sawyer for 27 years, said he and his business partner want to retire.

"It's time for fresh blood," Gladu said.

The mill complex has 25 tenants, including some who use the space for storage only. One of the largest tenants is Quoddy, a shoe manufacturer that has leased space at Pepperell for four years and has 42 employees there. 

Kevin Shorey, a  partner in Quoddy, said the mill is perfect for his hand-sewn shoe operation and he would like to stay.

"I just hope the new owners do as good a job as the old ones," he said. "We're really settled in there. It's a great place to make shoes, and we want to stay there."

The auction will be held at 1 p.m. at Pepperell Mill. The owners have set a reserve — an official minimum price they won't go below — but Gladu declined to say what that figure is. The city has appraised the mill complex at $1.2 million, Gladu said.

The auction will initially offer the mill complex in its entirety, then as three separate parcels.

"See which generates the best price," Gladu said.

People have expressed interest in buying the mill in the past, Gladu said, "but nothing ever materialized." He believes an auction will provide the quick sale he and his business partner are looking for.

"We want to get it done," he said.

ltice@sunjournal.com