SCARBOROUGH (AP) – Cabela’s Inc., which has been scouting out potential sites in southern Maine, has settled on Scarborough for its foray into L.L. Bean territory, according to application materials submitted to the town.

A proposed project featuring office buildings, a 200-room hotel, restaurants and a bank would be anchored by a 130,000-square-foot Cabela’s store, according to the application by the developer, New England Expedition-Scarborough, LLC.

The Cabela’s store would be roughly 25 miles from the flagship store and headquarters of rival L.L. Bean, the Freeport-based outdoors outfitter.

Joe Arterburn, spokesman for Cabela’s in Sidney, Neb., confirmed that the site is being considered, but he said it’s early in the process.

The site appeals to Cabela’s because it’s close to a major highway and a population base as well as being home to “a lot of people who embrace the outdoor lifestyle.” Arterburn noted that there are a lot of Cabela’s customers in the region.

“This site just sort of rose to the top, regardless of where L.L. Bean is located,” he said. “This came to the top as a site of interest to us.”

The proposed development’s 41-acre and 33-acre parcels on opposite sides of Payne Road, near the Maine Turnpike and the Maine Mall, would need zoning changes from Scarborough because of its scale, the Portland Press Herald reported.

The developer is expected to make a presentation during a public meeting on Tuesday, said Assistant Town Planner Dan Bacon. The project’s timeline calls for opening in 2008, said Gene Beaudoin, one of the Connecticut-based developers.

Nebraska-based Cabela’s sells hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise as well as clothing and footwear, gifts and home furnishings.

Cabela’s has 14 stores and plans to open four more this year.

Cabela’s had sales of nearly $1.8 billion last year, while mailing 122 million catalogs. L.L. Bean had sales of $1.47 billion and mails about 250 million catalogs annually.

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Information from: Portland Press Herald, https://www.pressherald.com

AP-ES-07-13-06 1350EDT