RUMFORD – Selectmen met behind closed doors for nearly 90 minutes with a prospective tenant for a portion of the former Abbott Farm shopping center Monday night.

Board Chairman Jim Thibodeau said the conversation was promising.

Although he wouldn’t provide details, Thibodeau said the business is retail and could serve as an anchor for the vacant shopping center.

“It looks good. We have great expectations,” Thibodeau said Monday night.

The next step is for town lawyer Jennifer Kreckel to review the agreement between the town and the potential business.

The former plaza on Route 2 west of town has been virtually vacant since Ames Department Store went into bankruptcy three years ago. The plaza’s owner, Boston-based Druker Corp., offered to deed the property to the town. Residents, at a special town meeting last month, agreed to accept the buildings and about 70 acres.

Thibodeau said that although the transfer deed has not yet arrived, he expects it soon.

“This sounds very promising. We hope to get things started,” he said.