Penny Road site eyed for development

OLD TOWN – The Penny Road business park at last has interest for possible development.

At last week’s city council meeting, City Manager Bill Mayo said he had been approached by a law firm representing a company that is looking to purchase as much as 25 acres off the Penny Road for a site for research and development and manufacturing. Old Town is in competition with three other communities for the project, and the company, which was not named, wants to start moving forward as quickly as possible.

A possible sale and purchase agreement for the property is under review, and negotiations could move forward quickly once a decision is made, said Mayo.

“There could be a lot of jobs involved,” said Mayo, who confirmed later in the week the company’s plan would be related to redevelopment efforts that are ongoing at the Old Town mill site.

The inquiry is the first serious one for Penny Road in several years, said Mayo. The business park area was partially developed in 2010, around the time a study was done on the the possibility of creating the park, which has land next to UMaine property as well as across from the mill. That study had stated that a business park there could be successful; development efforts for Penny Road stopped shortly after, however, in the wake of a lean budget year for the city.