2005 ended with near-giddy optimism.

Best Buy, Starbucks, Longhorn Steakhouse, Kohl’s – all opened or committed to opening. A new owner at the Auburn Mall meant new life, maybe a new anchor. Maybe a Twin Cities retail revolution.

Instead, it turned out 2006 was all about 2007.

Rather than steady announcements this past year, we got behind-the-scenes negotiations, tax deals, big plans, wooing.

Waiting.

Of course, waiting never fit real well in a shopping bag.

“Things are going to come, we know that. We may not know what they are,” said Chip Morrison, president of the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce. “Stuff is open, and much more is under construction. That fuels the idea of what can be. Three years ago, people couldn’t dream.”

They’re dreaming now.

At our invitation, more than 150 readers recently sent in “Dear George” letters to new Auburn Mall owner George Schott pitching must-have stores and restaurants. (Check out his replies inside.) He’s amassed enough land to build 250,000 square feet of new retail, or almost three Kohl’s.

Durham’s Lynn Arbour would love (double-underlined “love”) an Olive Garden and a Bass Pro Shop.

Anne Ceplikas in Auburn penned an ode to her favorite store. The first letter of each line spells OLD NAVY PLEASE (Only Americans, Love shopping and, Dining out…)

The pitch from Joyce Voisine, a grandmother of nine from Sabattus: New England’s biggest water park and the next Mall of America.

“My dream is to put L-A on the map,” she wrote.

That would do it.

Among the many things known to be in play for 2007: Fuel, an upscale restaurant, and Barnie’s, an upscale coffee shop, both in downtown Lewiston; percolating interest near Auburn’s turnpike exit; site plans for the long-awaited Exit 80 parcel, and developers working to bring five new restaurants to the area of Mount Auburn Avenue and Turner Street.

“Tell your readers, I’m doing my damnedest to get an Olive Garden in Auburn,” said Craig Young, a broker with CBRE Boulos. “If I get one, can I be mayor?”

Plaza place

Tom DeSimone at S.R. Weiner and Associates, owners of the Kohl’s plaza, is marketing retail space beside Kohl’s and one big spot likely to be divided between two restaurants in the parking lot.

“The plan, ideally, would be to have tenants signed up early to mid-spring, begin construction shortly and open next fall,” DeSimone said.

Lips are zipped on hints: “We’re talking with a number of different restaurants.”

One contender – Red Robin, a gourmet burger franchise – got Planning Board approval this summer. But nothing else has been submitted since.

Down the street, ground broke in November on a new strip mall named 600 Turner. It’ll fit up to six connected retailers, plus two more standalone eateries.

No one’s officially committed yet.

“Obviously, if somebody puts $3 million into a project without any tenants, they’re feeling very confident in it,” said Kevin Fletcher at Coldwell Banker Millett Realty, the site’s broker. “I think by the time we’re ready to turn over 600 Turner (in June 2007), we’ll be full.”

Ron Adamian, a developer with 83 acres near Exit 75, is talking to two possible retailers for that parcel – one is a big box. In 2003, Adamian predicted that both Lowe’s and Kohl’s would come to L-A. But he’s keeping any new forecasts to himself.

Young, with Boulos, is working on one final tenant for the Mt. Auburn Plaza, next to Best Buy. He’s also talking to two national chain restaurants about space on the opposite side of Mount Auburn Avenue, where a home came down this summer.

They’re just a few of the deals in the works with Schott. The publicity-shy developer has focused on renovating the mall, especially the 60,000 square feet that once housed Porteous. When the store closed in 2002, the space fell into neglect. Schott has replaced its utilities, roof, put up new Sheetrock and blasted mold.

It’s likely that two tenants will share the space, since it’s an awkward size for a single retailer in today’s market.

“That’s the priority, getting Porteous filled,” he said, noting that will increase foot traffic at the mall, which in turn will attract some youth-oriented A-list retailers (Abercrombie, American Eagle, Aeropostale). It also increases the chances of an expanded food court, a common request from younger “Dear George” letter writers.

Schott has also set his sights on two lots beside the mall along King’s Way – behind Shaw’s – that could be developed into 100,000 square feet of space. Greg Mitchell, a consultant to Schott, said the strategy is to develop the area as a whole, a mix that maximizes the profitability of all the tenants.

“There are no deals to announce, but a hotel could be part of the mix,” he said.

Touting the success of retailers who’ve already benefited from L-A locations is part of the plan, he said. Case in point: Kohl’s.

Since it opened in October, that department store has kept up better-than-expected sales. Store manager Chad Clow said it’s on track to be the strongest of all 65 in the chain that opened on the same day.

Business is “going very well,” he said. “We’re approaching double-digit percentages over the initial (sales) projections.”

This year, the city of Auburn signed off on two retail-related deals in that area. One offers incentives for Schott to improve the mall; the other pays for a $5 million road revamp.

Four years ago, the city took a firm line: no to tax breaks for retail. What changed?

“The clarity of requests for expanded services has really been responded to by the electorate,” said Economic Development Director Roland Miller.

In short: Give the people shops.

Hot rumors, breadsticks

While Auburn’s on the cusp of becoming a retail hot spot, across the river, Lewiston isn’t.

Yet.

“I’m still confident, but frustrated as hell,” said Lincoln Jeffers, Lewiston’s economic development chief.

Fifteen months ago, the city announced plans for a major shopping complex off Exit 80. Over the summer, one developer dropped out. New environmental rules added complications.

“We’ve certainly done everything we can from a regulatory standpoint to make the ground there fertile for development,” Jeffers said. “It’s been the biggest frustration. It’s beyond our control.”

The Chamber’s Morrison said he has faith: “I continue to believe the (complex) will get made at Exit 80 and we’ll see that area developed.”

Lewiston’s Gendron and Gendron owns one 40-acre parcel and South Park Development owns another 35 acres. John Gendron wouldn’t divulge what’s planned for his family’s site, except to say it’s too valuable a tract of land to remain undeveloped or be converted into an industrial use. His commitment to the retail project?

“We’ve never left a piece of land empty,” said a smiling Gendron of his company’s 35-year history.

Patrick Cleary, of the Massachusetts-based Hecht Co., is developing the South Park site. He said he expects to submit site plans for city review soon after the new year.

“It was a complex deal to put together, so detail-oriented with both the site plan and the tenancy,” he said. “But I feel good on both counts.”

Who’s coming and when, though, are still secret. Stay tuned.

He did say that the departure of KGI Properties, developers of the Gendron parcel, didn’t affect his company’s plans.

“From our perspective, our deal has always been independent,” he said.

One persistent rumor for that area – a new Wal-Mart Supercenter – isn’t true, a company spokesman said. (“Wal-Mart has no publicly announced plans at this time.”)

The megaretailer announced a few months ago that it was scaling back expansion plans, a reaction to a cooling economy.

Similarly, rumors of a Target bound for Auburn are just that, rumor, a spokesman said.

Proximity may be a factor. Packard Development is bringing Target to Augusta in its new plaza behind the Senator Inn. It’ll open March 2008. That developer works frequently with Target and Lowe’s.

“The L-A market is probably reasonably covered by Target coming to Augusta and Topsham,” Packard Project Manager Paul Cincotta said.

The arrival of an Olive Garden remains gossip, maybe spurred by wishful thinking that won’t go away.

“Unfortunately, we’re not doing anything in that area right now,” said spokeswoman Mara Frazier. “We appreciate that we’re a hot rumor.”

(Worth noting: Olive Garden won’t confirm its new move to Topsham even though the town’s economic developer says they’ve signed on the dotted line.)

Time and time again

The local retail lull could be reflecting what’s happening nationally. Some retail analysts predicted a chill in investment if Democrats controlled Congress, sensing a new minimum wage that could spike labor costs. Others see retailers as more reluctant to “cannibalize” their own customers by opening stores too close to each other.

Young, who’s worked with Schott for years brokering deals like the Auburn Mall and Best Buy, said some retailers look at complexes in Augusta, Portland, Freeport and Topsham and deem the market saturated.

“L-A can get boxed out,” he said. “But it’s the economic data doing it.”

Retailers will target new locations after looking long and hard at the numbers, he said. The area’s stagnant wages aren’t helping, but spending patterns are. Young points to the successes of the Wal-Mart Supercenter, Lowe’s, Kohl’s and new restaurants, and predicts similar positive results for Best Buy when it opens in early 2007.

Mitchell, who’s been wooing retailers since January, said he’s noticed those who were wheeling and dealing at a breakneck speed last year have slowed down.

“It just means I work harder,” he said.

And the rest of us wait.