FREEPORT (AP) – L.L. Bean is considering a multimillion-dollar expansion that would include a 500- to 600-space parking garage, an expanded distribution center and a new L.L. Bean storefront on Main Street.

The total cost for the expansion hasn’t been finalized but will add up to tens of millions of dollars, which would be Bean’s largest such investment in a decade. The plan could also enhance the town’s standing as one of Maine’s top tourist spots.

“We want to help make Freeport a premier destination for shopping and recreation,” said Rich Donaldson, a Bean spokesman.

The plan has three distinct elements.

The most striking part would be the construction of Freeport’s first parking garage, which would be built into a slope on property below Main Street that is now the location of Bean’s factory store and a large dirt parking lot. The factory store building is old and in need of repair and will be torn down.

The initial concept calls for putting a new factory store on top of a two-story garage. Other retail shops, restaurants and businesses could be included in the design, masking the parking garage. The company doesn’t yet have a timetable for the project,

The company also is buying an unoccupied store at 57 Main St., next to its flagship store. The 16,000-square-foot building, which was recently a Levi’s outlet and was occupied this summer by Maxwell’s Pottery, would give Bean a storefront presence directly on Main Street, attracting more foot traffic.

Bean also is considering a $35 million addition to its distribution center on Desert Road, south of downtown near Interstate 295, where merchandise is shipped to customers and Bean’s five retail stores and 14 factory stores from Maine to Virginia.

The project would nearly double the size of the massive 660,000-square-foot center, which was built in 1996.

Sixteen million packages ship out of the center each year, but mail-order and retail-store business is growing and the center is running out of room. After receiving necessary permits, work could begin next year.

Bean’s proposed plans appeal to local development officials and complement some of the goals articulated by Vision 2010, a list of economic development principles being used to help revitalize the town’s village retail core.

They include discouraging “parking sprawl” by building garages and strengthening the tax base by encouraging better use of existing land.

The expansion also could help shore up the town’s commercial real estate valuations, which have been stagnating in recent years, said Dale Olmstead, Freeport’s town manager. Forty percent of Freeport’s tax base is paid by businesses.

But with a townwide revaluation pending next year, officials are concerned that homeowners, who have seen soaring property values, will shoulder more of the tax burden.

That could change if Bean’s expansion triggers a new wave of business investment.

Olmstead said he’s aware of investors who are considering restaurants, movie theaters and other amenities.

“A lot of people are watching and hoping that L.L. Bean will make these investments in Freeport,” he said. “They’re waiting to see if Bean will make this commitment to the village.”

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