LEWISTON – Developers hope to bring down a two-story Bates Mill office building this May, making room for retail development in mill buildings Nos. 1 and 2.

Platz Associates has filed a demolition permit with the city to tear down the 152-year-old structure, which juts into the parking lot between the Bates Enterprise Complex and the canal.

“It’s in an awkward place that makes pedestrian access dangerous and creates a bottleneck for traffic in either direction,” said Stephan Myers, development coordinator for Platz Associates.

The office building was placed on a list of endangered historic Maine buildings in 2005.

The first floor was built in 1852 and a second story was added in 1902. It originally housed the administrative and business offices for Bates Manufacturing but has been used as office space for complex managers.

Future development of buildings 1 and 2, the buildings that run along the canal, calls for retail development, including shops and restaurants, Myers said.

“This is not something we’ve taken lightly,” Myers said. “We’ve thought long and hard about this, and it’s the best way to make that side of the complex work efficiently. We need to provide safe pedestrian and vehicular access.”

Myers said he filed for the demolition permit in January. According to the city’s historic building ordinances, that permit must wait for 90 days. He expects to put the work out to bid after April 22. The demolition should take place in May.

“In the meantime, we have a historic preservation photographer coming in to document what the building is,” he said. He also plans to open the doors to Museum LA, letting that organization have anything they want to preserve.