LEWISTON – The old warehouse for the Good Shepherd Food Bank will not be vacant for long.

The four-story building on lower Lisbon Street, in the heart of the city’s southern gateway area, has been leased to a Portland-based institution.

The name of the institution will remain unknown until Monday, when the new tenants will hold an 11 a.m. press conference at the building.

A spokeswoman for the project revealed few details about the identity of Lisbon Street’s new addition, which is expected to open in March.

She simply said that it is best described as an institution, not a business or a store. And, she confirmed, it is not a bank.

“This will create some really good foot traffic in the area,” said Jane Lord, a media specialist hired by the institution. “It will have a nice economic ripple effect.”

According to Lord, it is the first expansion for the Portland organization.

“People are really happy about this,” Lord said. “It is going to be a huge plus for the Lewiston-Auburn area.”

The leasing of 425 Lisbon St. is the latest development in the city’s southern gateway along lower Lisbon Street.

Announced last May, the plan calls for three new office buildings, including a new Oxford Networks branch.

The city’s share of the multi-million-dollar project involved agreeing to return 100 percent of real-estate property taxes to developers for 20 years, leasing the land for a 200- to 400-car parking garage, cleaning up the former food bank warehouse and agreeing to repair sidewalks, roads and utilities around the area.

According to Lord, the new tenants will not create many jobs for people in the area. But, she said, hundreds of people will visit the building each day.

lchmelecki@sunjournal.com

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