AUBURN – Shoppers take your mark – Kohl’s is coming to town.
The big-box retailer plans to open a 97,000-square-foot store on the site of the old Wal-Mart store by April 2006. The announcement, which the city will formally make today, brings a more upscale retailer to the area and signals a new aggressiveness in the city’s attempts to lure retailers.
“It’s very exciting activity,” said Roland Miller, chief of economic development for the city. “This will be a welcome addition to the retailing options for our citizens.”
The general merchandiser is one of the biggest retailers in the country, growing by double digits each of the last five years. There are Kohl’s in Augusta, Westbrook and Biddeford. The department store targets higher-income households by offering selections and prices that are more upscale than a J.C. Penney or Sears, but below a Macy’s. More than 100 jobs are expected.
Local developer George Schott, who owns the old Wal-Mart property, has been working with S.R. Weiner, the development company that landed Kohl’s as a tenant. Plans call for razing the old Wal-Mart building and replacing it with a new Kohl’s and an adjacent 30,000-square-foot building on the 15-acre site. Weiner is working on signing a tenant for the second building as well.
“These guys are big players – they’ve been a tremendous asset in putting this together,” said Miller. “Their real strength is the relationships they already have with tenant groups.”
But the deal wouldn’t have happened without the city shifting away from its long-standing policy not to offer tax breaks to retailers. If approved, the breaks will apply to Schott’s old Wal-Mart property as well as his 14-acre development at the corner of Mount Auburn Avenue and Turner Street. No figures are currently available. The Auburn City Council must still approve the breaks.
“It made the difference,” said Schott, referring to the city’s support. “I’m not sure it was a deal breaker, but it was very, very important.”
The city is reviewing tax-break packages that use some of the expected new revenue from the retailers to pay for road improvements and for site preparation costs incurred by Schott. Miller said the tax breaks would come from new revenues generated by retailers, not from taxpayers.
“The users will be paying for the developments, not the taxpayer,” said Miller.
He said the city began reassessing its policy regarding tax breaks over the last year or so, prompted by a continuing clamor from residents who wanted more local retail options. The din got louder as economic development groups such as the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce and the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council urged the city to reconsider its position. Several newspaper stories added to the pressure and prompted the city to be “more proactive,” said Miller.
“All these groups were saying we have to promote more retail,” said Miller. “The city listened, and this is its response.”
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