By Carol Coultas,Business Writer

LISBON – It doesn’t bother Dan Feeney one whit that there’s a Target going in next door in Topsham and a Lowe’s just opened in nearby Auburn.

Because Lisbon’s economic development director has smaller fish to fry.

“We like the smaller box concept,” said Feeney. “We don’t need a Wal-Mart, but a smaller store that does the same thing. We’d love to have Reny’s here – I’ve been trying for 10 years to get one.”

Although Reny’s isn’t on the horizon, the town – a series of three villages, really – is in the midst of a mini retail boom of its own. Feeney says the town is starting to see the pay-off from some investments and planning it made 10 years ago.

• Food City is moving into a new store, almost three times the size of its existing one in Lisbon Falls. Flanking it will be a Sam’s Italian and Dunkin’ Donuts.

• Just across the street, the former Grumbacher brush company has been sold to a developer who plans to convert the 30,000-square-foot manufacturing space into retail stores. Two tenants – a discount general merchandiser and a specialty merchandiser – have signed letters of intent. There’s space for one or two more tenants.

• Lisbon native Mark LaRoche and his leasee XtraMart just sank $360,000 in improvements and expansions at his retail complex, including the opening of a new deli/cafe and upgrades to the existing convenience store, laundry and car services area.

• A couple of miles down Route 196, Floor Systems is preparing to open its huge warehouse store, relocating out of the Bates Mill complex in Lewiston. Right next door is Furniture Superstore, billed as the largest furniture showroom in Maine.

The thread running through all this development is Route 196.

“Our location is unique,” said Feeney. “There are already lots of commuters and now with the Sabattus (turnpike) interchange, I think there are great things for the future.”

There’s lots of economic potential in the 16,500 vehicles that travel Route 196 through Lisbon every day. Among them are the 1,000 commuters who travel to Bath Iron Works. Feeney hopes they will stop and do their shopping along the way.

Zachary Sclar shares that hope. As general manager, he’s building a new Food City just a stone’s throw from its current location. The new store will be three times the size of the existing one, with expanded meat, deli and produce sections as well as a bakery and health food section. About 20 additional employees are expected to be hired.

“In order for this to be successful, we need people to do most of their shopping there,” said Sclar. “I feel we can be competitive on pricing with the big chains; I know we can provide better customer service.”

Feeney, who has overseen Lisbon’s development since 1989, is glad to see the spurt. Ten years ago, the town got $500,000 in rural development loans, which it used to finance 52 small-business loans. Feeney said the town decided to invest in small business, and “grow what we have,” rather than try to attract one major employer.

“Originally it started as reacting to a bad situation,” said Feeney, recalling the 1989 closure of Maine Electronics and the loss of 350 jobs. “Now we’ve become innovative and more proactive. It’s good to see the surrounding businesses grow.”

Among those innovations today are tax breaks. The town offered developer Dave Gendron a tax break that would reduce his debt load for 20 years to spur the $3 million Food City plaza. That in turn, allows Gendron to offer tenants a lower lease rate to entice them into the plaza. Sclar said the decision to relocate Food City was made because the current store is “tired” and the new plaza is “economically viable.”

Feeney wants the momentum to continue. The town is updating its comprehensive plan, with an eye toward more development. Feeney has applied for $500,000 in block grant money to revitalize the downtown by upgrading lights and sidewalks, making more green space and demolishing eyesores. And he and other town officials have streamlined their permitting process so a developer doesn’t have to wade through piles of red tape to get moving on a project.

“We can determine applications in two months rather than six to 12, as is typical in other communities,” said Feeney.

There are other factors at play influencing development, however, that have nothing to do with the town’s incentives. Among them: a fluctuating real estate market and the new Sabattus turnpike interchange that opened last fall.

It’s too soon to assess how much traffic is coming from that exit and down Route 9 to Lisbon. But anecdotally, business owners have noticed an increase.

Laroche said it was an uptick in business that prompted him to make the hefty renovations to his XtraMart complex, which borders both routes 9 and 196.

LaRoche is the seventh generation of his family to make a living from that location; his grandfather operated a black smith shop there. He’s happy to see the development going all around him.

“It was perfect timing,” he said. “We’re in the middle of everything, so we said, Let’s make our own investment.'”

Others are likely to be interested as well. Compared with Brunswick and L-A, prices to buy or lease commercial properties in Lisbon are 15 to 20 percent less, according to Michael Miller, associate broker for the Dunham Group, which markets commercial property south of Augusta.

Miller said commercial property in both L-A and Brunswick sells for about $60,000 an acre and leases in the $12- to $14-per-square-foot range. In Lisbon, commercial land can be bought for $40,000 an acre and leases for $8 to $12 per square foot.

“It’s a great, growing community,” said Miller, who handled the sale of the Grumbacher building to KDA Associates. “(For commercial properties) it’s becoming more viable.”

The availability and affordability of land is a factor in a proposal to build another industrial park. Feeney said the last lot in the existing industrial park has been leased and now the town is looking at building a new 100-acre industrial park with a private developer on the Lewiston line. He expects the plans will be finalized within the year.

For Lisbon native LaRoche, it’s all good tidings for his hometown’s future prosperity.

“It’s a big pool,” he said. “Jump in.”