Expansion of Auburn industrial park gets OK
Auburn officials announced Wednesday that phase two of construction at the Auburn Industrial Park has received final approval from the Army Corps of Engineers and will begin in the spring.
The project continues development of the site that local economic development officials say could accommodate up to 1.3 million square feet of new construction and attract up to $80 million in private investments.
In April, the city received $1.7 million in federal funds — which it is matching with $1.7 in local money — to help make the phase two infrastructure improvements at the 119-acre industrial park. According to a press release, the city is also continuing to draw on a $3 million bond issue passed in early 2005 for the creation of the new industrial park.
Lucien Gosselin, president of the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council, said in the release that he expects businesses to take a second look at transportation benefits of locating in the area as fuel prices continue to rise.
The Associated Press reported this week that gas prices have dropped three cents in the past week to an average of $3.60, a figure that is higher than the national average and 10 cents higher than one year ago.
Roland Miller, Auburn's economic development director, said he expects the industrial park that borders Kittyhawk Avenue, Lewiston Junction Road and Foster Road will appeal to potential tenants for its proximity to the turnpike, airport, rail services and the Port of Auburn, which has Foreign Trade Zone designation.
City officials project that construction at the industrial park — a collaboration between the city and the Auburn Business Development Corp. — will begin in spring 2013 and that the development could create up to 200 jobs over the next decade and could produce up to $1 million annually for the city.
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