By Gail Geraghty,Staff Writer

OXFORD – New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. is planning to move its factory outlet store from downtown Norway to Route 26 in Oxford.

The move would mean the loss of a key downtown anchor store and a centerpiece of Norway’s efforts to revitalize its Main Street, town officials say. The move won’t happen until after February 2006, when the company’s lease expires with Western Maine Development, owner of the 356 Main St. building.

“It’s not very good news for downtown, that’s for sure,” said Ken Morse, president of Downtown Norway Revitalization. “It’s very discouraging. This is going to create a huge hole.”

Oxford Town Manager Michael Chammings said Thursday that he received a letter from the sneaker manufacturer informing the town of the relocation plans. Norway Town Manager David Holt, who had been working to keep New Balance downtown, said he also received a letter from the company stating that it had made other arrangements for the long term to relocate to Oxford.

The letter did not state which site in Oxford was being eyed for the move. Amy Vreeland, spokesperson for New Balance at its Boston headquarters, said the company is completing its plans and still has a lease at its current location.

She declined further comment, except to say the plans should be complete by early spring.

Floyd Thayer, chairman of the Oxford Board of Selectmen, said he wasn’t aware of the plans. But he wasn’t surprised. “Seems like everybody wants to come to Oxford,” he said, referring to Home Depot’s plans to open a store on Route 26 near the Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Holt said the town had been working jointly with Western Maine Development to meet New Balance’s space needs. The plan, Holt said, was to have New Balance expand into the adjacent Maine Discoveries space, and provide more parking by acquiring the former Aubuchon building and partially razing it.

New Balance operates a factory on Cottage Street in Norway. Major financial incentives were provided in the late 1990s to lure the company to the Cottage Street factory, once owned by Norway Footwear.

Holt said that by all accounts, the factory is going strong. “It expands on a regular basis.”

Western Maine Development bought and renovated the former J.J. Newberry’s department store and was able to convince New Balance to open a factory outlet store. The company is a leading manufacturer of varied-width footwear and athletic apparel for women, men and children. Other areas of the company’s primary operations include Lawrence, Mass., and Skowhegan and Norridgewock in Maine. The company employs more than 2,400 people around the globe.

In November 2001, New Balance made a $40,000 pledge over four years in support of downtown revitalization efforts. The annual $10,000 contribution, now in its fourth year, provides about half of the budget for the revitalization group, with the town providing the other half.

“I’m really saddened that they made the choice that they did,” Holt said. “It’s a lot harder to make development happen downtown than it is to make it happen on fields or town roads – that’s what we call sprawl.”