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V O L . X X V I I I N O. X I I J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 2 2 14 L E W I S T O N / A U B U R N / W E S T E R N M A I N E T arget and Five Guys are coming to Center Street, local facto- ries are expanding, and the city recently made national headlines as America's "YIMBYest," for "Yes in My Backyard" to new development. Welcome to Auburn, where com- mercial development is sizzling. "ere's a buzz here in Auburn, I feel like we have some momentum, and I'm very excited about the future," says Joe Morin, business development direc- tor at SummerSpace LLC, the flagship brand of Auburn-based awnings maker Futureguard Building Products Inc. Futureguard is in the midst of a $17 million expansion that's expected to add 70 new jobs in the next 24 months. New jobs will also be created at a 105,000-square-foot Target store due to open later this year in a space for- merly occupied by Kmart. Currently under construction, the site is being developed by the Minneapolis-based national retailer in collaboration with VHB, a South Portland-based civil engineering firm, and Bignell Watkins Hasser Architects, of Annapolis, Md. "A new Target is a validation of our hard work opening Auburn up to more residents and com- mercial growth," says Auburn Mayor Jason Levesque. "Growth attracts growth." Including Target's estimated $10 million investment, Levesque expects $100 million coming to the 24,000-popula- tion city this year along with the creation of 300 to 400 new jobs at new and existing businesses. He also sees "a good chance" of break- ing $200 million in new investment by June 2023. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Futureguard Building Products Inc. is an awnings maker in the midst of a $17 million expansion. Brian Buteau, left, is Futureguard's vice president of operations, and Joe Morin is director of business development at SummerSpace, the flagship brand. F O C U S market target Commercial development sizzles in Auburn, adding to L-A region's appeal B y R e n e e C o r d e s Twin cities on different tracks Lewiston-Auburn's regional business boom comes five years after voters rejected a proposed merger between the two cities and less than a year after office supply retailer Staples moved from Lewiston to Auburn, with a new coworking space called Staples Connect. Lewiston, which has a population of 37,000, also recently filed a lawsuit against its twin city over a proposed rezoning plan around Lake Auburn, a water source for both cities and the town of Poland. Urban-sibling rivalry aside, business momentum is strong in both places as Auburn attracts a growing number of franchises and factory expansions, while Lewiston prefers to focus on the redevelopment of its downtown. Last year, for example, the Downtown Lewiston Association and LA Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce held a business incubator contest called JumpStartME won by the Rusty Bus Brewing Co., a craft brewer coming to 120 Lisbon St. "We have McDonald's and Burger King, but Lewiston is not a place the bigger chains typically go to," says Lincoln Jeffers, the city's economic

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