AUGUSTA (AP) – The Marketplace at Augusta shopping center is planning to add 500,000 square feet of retail space, a move that would make it the largest retail complex in Maine, a partner in the development said Tuesday.

Roger Pomerleau said the expansion of the shopping center off Civic Center Drive calls for building big-box stores at each end of a cluster of smaller stores.

If the expansion is completed as planned, it would give The Marketplace 1.2 million square feet of retail space, Pomerleau said. The shopping center already counts Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, Staples, Old Navy and Barnes & Noble among its tenants.

“The Maine Mall (in South Portland) has 1.1 million square feet,” he said.

Pomerleau is an Augusta businessman who has worked closely with W/S Development Associates of Chestnut Hill, Mass., in developing The Marketplace over the years. He said construction could start by next fall, and that such an expansion could add 1,000 new jobs.

He said he is negotiating with retailers to occupy the big-box stores, but can’t release any names.

“We’re expecting up to 22 to 25 new stores. It will about double the size of the number of stores there now,” Pomerleau said.

The developers have signed options to purchase two pieces of land that border The Marketplace on Old Belgrade Road, Pomerleau said. The land will have to be rezoned from residential to commercial for the expansion to go forward.

Councilor Tom Sotir said he supports a zone change to allow for the expansion. He said the plan is another sign that Augusta is entering a new era with a revitalized downtown, a new Cony High School and a new bridge over the Kennebec River.

Mayor William Dowling said Augusta is rapidly becoming a retail hub that draws thousands of shoppers from outside the city.

“I think a significant portion of the business at The Marketplace is not from Augusta,” he said. “We have become a central retail center.”

AP-ES-12-17-03 0217EST