On Lisbon Street, it’s out with the old Burger King and in with a revamped castle

It’s a two-Buzz week bursting with more than $5 million in Twin Cities commercial builds.

First up: A new modern, slightly smaller Burger King for Lisbon Street.

The new pavilion-style restaurant at 827 Lisbon St. will have two glass walls and a smaller footprint, according to plans filed with the city.

It’s shrinking from the current 3,639-square feet to 3,096-square feet.

Inside is seating for up to 45 and outside is a double drive-thru.

Developer Carrols, LLC is behind the $1.5 million project. It’s received a building permit from the city but a demolition permit is still pending, according to City Planner Doug Greene.

He said he wasn’t sure when the current building would come down or when the new one would be finished.

A sign on the outside marquee reads simply: “CLQSED 4 REMQDEL, SEE U SOON.”

An artist’s rendering of the new pavilion-style Burger King planned for Lisbon Street, from the application filed with the City of Lewiston. Contributed image

INDUSTRIAL TENANTS WANTED

The owner of 10 Gould St. in Lewiston received a city permit last month for a $1.2 million project building a 160-foot-by-80-foot pre-engineered metal building. Real estate company Porta Co. has a lease listing up already for an under-construction warehouse at that address with 28-foot ceilings, 12,800-square feet and two docks.

Broker Tim Millett said it’s being built on spec by a local investor, Chris Ames, with the foundation going in the ground now.

“(We) are looking for a customer who values the highway vicinity and visibility,” he said.

Millett’s also marketing a second industrial spec building in town, this one at 9 Lexington St. and owned by John Gendron. That $1.5 million project was approved by the Lewiston Planning Board in August for one of the last remaining spots in the Lewiston Industrial Park.

“Same as Gould Road, we are marketing the 30,000 (square feet) for lease and are actively looking for a tenant for all or half of the footprint, no specific industry is in mind,” Millett said.

There’s enough demand in the market that both developers felt comfortable moving ahead before securing tenants, he said. It’s coming from “both new and existing tenants in the market upgrading or re-evaluating their footprint.”

ALSO IN THE WORKS

There were a slew of new building projects on the September permit reports released by both cities this week.

Among the other permits in Lewiston:

• A $1.6 million addition for the Walmart Distribution Center at 31 Alfred Plourde Parkway. In August, the Lewiston Planning Board approved a new 8,640-square foot dispatch building and 770-square foot truck maintenance garage expansion for the site.

• A $400,000 renovation at 47 Howe St. for owner Sophia Grallert rebuilding the interior to code.

• A $94,891 renovation at Motel 6 at 516 Pleasant St. for owners A & Y Hospitality LLC, replacing 31 slider doors with windows.

And among the permits in Auburn:

• A $1.1 million renovation at 600 Turner St. for RAYUS Radiology. The chain is described on the company’s website as “a leader in advanced diagnostic and interventional radiology” with 400-plus radiologists doing 1.2 million images a year.

• A $211,368 project installing communication equipment on an existing light tower at 80 Airport Drive for Androscoggin County LLC/LA911.

• A $225,000 project adding detailing bays at 990 Center St. for Emerson Toyota.

• A $269,450 demolition project for a full kitchen remodel at 236 Stetson Road for Androscoggin Home Care + Hospice.

• A $27,000 project for a 16-foot-by-24-foot garage slab at 325 Summer St. for J.F. Murphy Homes.

COLISEE CONTAINER UPDATE

Several images of ideas for modified shipping containers-turned-dorm rooms in Darryl Antonacci’s application to the Lewiston Planning Board.

The Colisee is adding 10 modified shipping containers outside 190 Birch St. after also receiving a permit for that $400,000 project last month.

New owner Darryl Antonacci pitched the idea of housing student players in modified cargo containers last May to the Lewiston Planning Board, citing a tough real estate market and “significant demand for on-campus, small-unit housing for students.”

Antonacci said by email this week “our build out is way behind, but now underway.”

“We were waiting since June/July submission for the final State Fire Marshal approval, which we got in late September,” he said. “Although the good news is that I heard the local fire inspector was very happy about our housing unit modifications of metal containers.”

Quick hits about business comings, goings and happenings. Have a Buzzable tip? Contact staff writer Kathryn Skelton at 689-2844 or kskelton@sunjournal.com.