HERMON — Months after beginning talks with town officials, FedEx Ground has officially confirmed it will move its regional package distribution center into an $8 million facility being built in Hermon.

The 85,000-square-foot building will be located on a 12-acre site on Mack Lane in the Cold Brook Business Park, Hermon Town Manager Roger Raymond and Economic Development Director Ron Harriman confirmed last month.

Though the company declined to confirm the project in June, a spokesman issued a statement Monday confirming that it is moving ahead with the project, slated to be completed next summer.

“The new facility will replace an existing facility nearby, allowing us to continue to meet and exceed customer demands in the region,” the spokesman said. “When the new facility opens, positions will transfer from the existing station on Perry Road in Bangor and we will add to the workforce as necessary to support increased demand for service in the area.”

The company official said the Hermon site was chosen “because of its ease of access to major highways, its proximity to customers’ distribution centers and a strong local community workforce for recruiting employees.”

The new facility is part of a nationwide network expansion to boost daily package volume capacity and further enhance the speed and service capabilities of the FedEx Ground network, the company said in its statement.

Since 2005, the company has opened 11 new hubs featuring the most advanced material-handling systems and expanded or relocated more than 500 local facilities.

The company said the enhancements have accelerated ground service delivery by one day or more in more than two-thirds of the United States.

The applicant for the project is Michael Prezzato of Michigan-based Moltus Building Group and the developer is Westmoreland Co. Inc. of Alabama, according to documents filed with the town of Hermon. Plymouth Engineering of Maine was tapped to work on the plans for the facility.

Harriman said that discussions about the facility began several months ago, when a site selection consultant from Texas inquired about available building sites.

He said that one of the reasons they selected the Cold Brook Business Park parcel, which was owned by Dysarts Realty Inc., is that it already had undergone site division approval, which expedited the development process.

The facility is expected to house 80 to 100 employees, Harriman said.

The FedEx facility was among several economic development achievements celebrated Monday during a gathering at the entrance to Coldbrook Business Park.

During the event, which drew about 30 people, Maine Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner George Gervais presented the town its “Certified Business-Friendly” community certificate and road signs as part of the LePage Administration’s effort to ensure Maine is open for business.

“It was a nice place to do it,” Harriman said of the award ceremony. Once a hay field, Coldbrook Business Park now is home to 25 local businesses employing more than 100 people, he said.

“We really have worked hard to put programs and procedures in place so we’re able to respond quickly” when businesses approach the town with plans to build or expand, he said, citing a list of incentives that include, among other things, a business loan program.

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