OXFORD – Developer Bob Bahre of Paris announced to Norway and Oxford planning boards Monday night that Lowe’s, a national hardware and appliance store chain, plans to build a store on Route 26.

Bahre said he was told by Lowe’s officials that the new center could create 150 jobs, most of them full-time.

“I think it’ll be good for the area,” Bahre said.

The store will straddle the two towns, although it will be predominantly in Oxford. The site is next to Goodwin’s Viking Motors and across from Pizza Hut and Hannaford Supermarket. The land belongs to Gary Bahre and his sister, Terri Carleton.

The two planning boards will work together on the project.

Bahre and his son Gary spread out a blueprint for the 112,649-square-foot store and garden center in front of the planning boards that had gathered to hear the announcement.

After negotiating for the past five or six months, Lowe’s has agreed to lease the land, Bob Bahre said. The men said Lowe’s had looked at two other sites outside of the Oxford Hills region before settling on the Oxford lot.

Last summer, bulldozers and excavators cleared the parcel, sparking much buzz about what business might have designs for the 11.8 acres. But the Bahres remained quiet about plans until Monday night.

Gary Bahre said the family purchased the land at least 15 years ago but then got preoccupied with other projects, such as developing Oxford Plains Speedway, and put the parcel somewhat out of mind.

If Lowe’s gets approvals from the planning boards and the state Department of Environmental Protection, Lowe’s will begin construction in the spring and open its doors next fall, Bob Bahre said.

The North Carolina-based chain was founded in the 1940s and operates more than 1,000 stores nationwide.

In 2005, Home Depot, another national hardware and garden center chain, was considering building a store on Route 26 in Oxford north of Wal-Mart Supercenter but backed out after conducting market studies, a spokesman said at the time.

Bob Bahre, who has a residence in Alton, N.H., built New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, N.H., and has developed commercial and residential properties around Maine.