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V O L . X X V N O. X I M AY 2 7 , 2 0 1 9 22 L E W I S T O N / A U B U R N & C E N T R A L M A I N E F O C U S Auburn development boom has mayor's buy-in B y R e n e e C o r d e s A uburn Mayor Jason Levesque is such a fan of downtown development that he's also a prop- erty owner. His latest investment, through a new firm called Aegean Development, is the $5.5 million purchase of the Peck Building. Located at 184 Main St. in Lewiston, it was built in 1899 and housed the state's first and largest department store for over a century. Still referred to as the Great Department Store Building, it's now an L.L.Bean call center. Boutique law firm Brann & Isaacson is also a tenant. Levesque bought the building from L.L.Bean, which will remain a tenant. "When they approached me," Levesque said, "it made a lot of sense for them. ey wanted a good steward of the building, and I was looking for a good investment." It's his second downtown development, the first being the former McCrory's Department Store on Lisbon Street that he renovated and made into offices for his call-center firm, Argo Contact Centers. He sold Argo in October 2017 and the building this past January. Keen to pivot into commercial property manage- ment, he founded Aegean "to be that vehicle for property development." A fifth-generation Auburn resident who returned to Maine after attending West Virginia Wesleyan College, Levesque oozes enthusiasm about Auburn and the greater Lewiston-Auburn area in terms of location and affordability. "e cost of homes and land for commercial devel- opment is very low, especially compared to Portland," he says. "at's one of our strengths." He also sees a benefit from the continued growth of Maine's largest city, a half-hour drive from his hometown. "What's good for Portland is good for Auburn." Auburn has seen close to $66 million in commercial projects (based on permits) over the past two years, according to Brett Sawyer, an economic development specialist with the city. And Levesque recalls one recent Monday where five new housing permits were issued in a single day. "In the rest of the state permitting can take days if not months," he said. "We're pushing through build- ing permits and really living by this mantra that the business of government is business." We're pushing through building permits and really living by this mantra that the business of government is business. — Jason Leveque Auburn mayor News from around Lewiston / Auburn Buildings, Bates College, buses and (edible) bugs B y M a i n e B i z S t a f f Recent notable development projects in Auburn The following projects are in various stages of development, all permitted over the past two years. Some started very recently while a few have been completed, according to a city official. Gracelawn Apartments, 48 Units / $2.5 million Evergreen Subaru, 649 Turner St. / $2.8 million Futureguard expansion, 101 Merrow St. / $700,000 to $1.2 million Synagogue Apartments, 35 Laurel St. / 10 Units / $300,000 Bangor Savings Bank, 170 Turner St. / $1.7 million Mystique Way, commercial buildings / $3 million Schooner Estates, New Memory Care Facility / $18 million 48 Hampshire St., 53 Apartments / $9.4 million 62 Spring St., mixed-use structure with 41 apartments / $5.4 million East Auburn Baptist Church, addition / $3.1 million Hannaford, store upgrades / $2.5 million 477 Minot Ave., 36 Apartments / $5 million Advantage Payroll, upgrades / $1.9 million Tambrands, equipment production upgrades / multimillions Panolam, equipment production upgrades / $10 million Hammond Tractor Store / $1.6 million Kassbohrer/Pisten Bully Grooming Equipment, NE headquarters / $1.4 million 65 Mt. Auburn, retail store / $900,000 Auburn Mall, new payroll management office / $860,000 Rainbow FCU, renovations and addition /$860,000 JFM Nursing Home / $1 million Auburn Airport, airplane hangar / $500,000 S O U R C E : City of Auburn P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Jason Levesque, mayor of Auburn, near the Peck Building in downtown Lewiston.

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