By Carol Coultas,Business Writer

LEWISTON – Details of a major retail complex expected to generate about $400,000 annually in tax revenue will be revealed today.

The development, situated between Goddard Road and Alfred Plourde Parkway, will be announced at a 1 p.m. news conference at City Hall. Specifics about the announcement will be posted on the Sun Journal Web site soon thereafter.

The first phase of the project involves 70 acres near Exit 80 of the Maine Turnpike, according to City Administrator Jim Bennett. Although he declined to name the developer that will be making the announcement, he said projects of similar size and composition generate between $400,000 and $450,000 a year in tax revenues.

“The retail options in the community will be enhanced,” he said. The developer is a major player in the Northeast.

Bennett said he expects the complex will be anchored with a big-box retailer. Rumors had been swirling that Wal-Mart was interested in the site for a Supercenter, but people close to the project say that’s not true.

About 40 acres of the 70-acre first phase is in an urban enterprise zone; the rest is zoned for industrial use.

Bennett said the development is predicated on getting the entire area rezoned for retail use, as well as the developer’s acquiring all necessary permits. A traffic study – usually one of the preliminary steps a developer takes for a retail complex – has not been submitted to the city as yet.

Greg Mitchell, assistant city administrator, said he’s very pleased. The city has been trying to attract retail to the turnpike exit for the last two and a half years. The property is owned by Gendron and Gendron Inc. and South Park Inc.

Bennett said that if all the permitting and municipal requirements are met, the retail center should be open for business in 2006.