FARMINGTON — For sale signs were recently posted on the long, rolling fields of the McCleery farm, a familiar site to travelers on Routes 2 and 4.

The land has always been for sale. What’s new are the signs by Malone Commercial Brokers of Portland, said Louise McCleery, representing McCleery Family Limited Partnership LLC, developed by her parents, the late Robert and Edith McCleery, in 1997.

Development opportunities for about 200 acres from the Whittier Road stretching west almost to Pizza Hut are available. There is more than 3,000 feet fronting on the east-west highway where nearly 31,000 vehicles travel daily, according to information supplied by John Doyon of Malone Commercial Brokers.

There are five parcels of three to 92 acres, and the asking price for all five is $11.97 million. The price is set by the market, Doyon said.

Although McCleery’s parents bought and sold smaller parcels along the road since they married in 1943, the bulk of the property, including the homestead, was purchased by her grandfather, Robert E. McCleery, Louise McCleery said. He bought it in 1917 to start farming, she added.

Her parents first lived in what they called the “little house” next to Franklin Chrysler. The home was owned by Phillip Farrington’s family and is a commercial nursery site, she said.

They later moved to the larger home of her grandparents and continued the farming. Her father, a former fire chief for Farmington, died in 2002 and her mother in 2011.

Putting the property in the hands of a commercial broker represents a big change for family members.

“This isn’t new but it’s a change for those of us who grew up there,” she said. “We knew the signs were going up but it’s not easier… it’s not easy.”

Thoughts of the change from the farm she grew up on into a potentially large development are partially soothed by a quote given to her in 2007, she said. The quote is from a sign posted at ground zero of the World Trade Center in New York City.

“Look back, move forward, it’s time,” she said was the message.

The economy slowed previous development efforts for part of the property. The section bordered by Whittier and Routes 2 and 4 was strongly considered for a Lowe’s store in 2008.

They went pretty far and spent quite a bit of money on pre-engineering testing of soils, Steve Kaiser, Farmington’s Code Enforcement Officer, said.

Lowe’s engineers were ready to bring the plan for a 138,893-square-foot retail store and warehouse on the north corner of the property before the Planning Board in December of that year. Then Lowe’s board of directors pulled the plug on the idea, he explained.

That piece of property, including the homestead, is for sale for $6 million, according to Malone’s website.

The state highway, dotted with private and national-chain businesses such as Walmart, Pizza Hut, Subway, Burger King and KFC-Taco Bell, has seen little interest in large developments during the tight economy of the past few years.

Home Depot considered a spot on the Daku Farm, next to Mt. Blue Shopping Center, in 2005, he said. They also spent a considerable amount in pre-development work before scrapping the plan.

Other parcels of the McCleery acreage available, besides the 35 acres of fields and forest land bordering Whittier and Wilton roads, are three acres of pasture land across from Harvest House restaurant where a farmer fields a herd of cows in the summer.

Another 70 acres in a farm and forest zone goes from behind Pizza Hut to Cushing Motors with frontage on Routes 2 and 4 across from Hight Chevrolet.

Two parcels, mostly field and forest, are listed together and have about 290 feet of road frontage between Aubuchon and Touch of Class.

 abryant@sunjournal.com

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