WILTON – Partners who took over the former G.H. Bass & Co. complex Thursday envision 12 to 20 businesses employing 700 people by 2010.

Nichols Development LLC plans to create jobs by soliciting manufacturing companies throughout North America to set up shop in the Weld Road buildings.

The four partners, also owners of Nichols Custom Welding Inc. on Routes 2 and 4 in Farmington, are calling the complex the Nichols/Bass Business Technology Center, said Gil Reed, president of Nichols Development LLC.

The partners, Reed of Strong, Bob Nichols of New Sharon, Rich Johnson of Skowhegan and Mark Berry of Belgrade, are moving their business from Wilton Road in Farmington to Wilton.

The company builds Nichols Custom Trailers, for such things as all-terrain vehicles, and ships them nationally.

Phillips-Van Heusen, parent company of G.H. Bass & Co., offered the 291,000-square-foot, eight-unit complex on 31 acres to Wilton for $1 in February. The company had announced in December 2003 that it would leave Maine by mid-2004.

Wilton selectmen turned the offer over to the Wilton Development Corp., which formed a response team by calling on the Greater Franklin Development Corp., the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments and the state to become partners in the quest for a master developer to maximize potential for the property.

The group launched the marketing campaign this spring.

Nichols Development LLC worked with Coastal Enterprises Inc. to put together a request for qualifications.

The partnership was selected and the deed was transferred to Nichols Development LLC Thursday.

The complex is assessed by Wilton as $2.5 million for land and buildings.

Reed said the partnership bought the complex from Wilton Development Corp. for much more than the $1 price tag. While he would not specify the amount, Reed said the partners felt that the price should be a fairer compensation than just $1.

“We’re not real estate developers, we’re job creators,” he said.

They want to put people back to work, he said. The greater Franklin County area has lost hundreds of jobs with the closing of a number of shoe manufacturers and wood product manufacturers over the last decade.

The property is in a state Pine Tree Zone, which provides tax incentives to spur economic growth in targeted areas of the state where unemployment is high and wages are relatively low.

The partners have already been talking to businesses throughout North America, and there is interest, Reed said. Four businesses from Canada that are very interested, he said.

“Our goal right from the beginning is that we want to see companies come in to employ 200 people in the next two years, and we’re hoping for 700 total by 2010,” Reed said.

If there were more than 700, he said, they would be ecstatic.

“This is a vision,” he said, “whether or not it works … we’re trying to do something. … We’re not targeting the high tech people, we’re targeting the down-to-earth manufacturers.”

Those are the kinds of jobs the people have lost in the region, he said.

Reed said the partners are hoping that ICT Inc., an inbound call center that leases 20,000 square feet of the complex, stays.

The partners are moving from a 6,200-square-foot space to 16,500 square feet in Wilton. Nichols Development LLC also plans to have an office there.

A for-sale sign went up on the Farmington commercial space Thursday. On Wednesday owners and employees celebrated. They’ll be able to make their trailers inside instead of working on some outside.

“It’s a dream come true,” Reed said.

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