Burlington Coat leases former HQ building

BANGOR – National discount retailer Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse and its subsidiary Baby Depot will move into the former HQ building in the Bangor Mall area this summer.

The chain, which sells everything from clothing to linens, will begin renovating the space this summer, and has targeted early fall for opening, according to a company spokeswoman.

“We just felt there was room for growth in Maine,” said spokeswoman Stacey Kelleher from the company’s corporate offices in Burlington, N.J. “People in the original Maine store were pretty receptive to us.”

Burlington Coat Factory’s other Maine store is in Portland. A couple of the company’s nationwide competitors – Bed Bath and Beyond, and TJ Maxx and More – already have stores in the Bangor area.

Burlington Coat Factory is leasing the 100,000-square-foot building from Kimco Realty Corp. of Hyde Park, N.Y., which completed its purchase of the former HQ site on Dec. 28. Terms of the lease or the price Kimco paid for the building were not available. The city has the building and land assessed at $1.1 million for tax purposes.

“They have a long-term option to be there,” said Scott Onufrey, Kimco vice president of investor relations. “We suspect if they can’t sell coats in Bangor, they can’t sell coats.”

Dan Wellington, code enforcement officer for the city of Bangor, said he believes Burlington Coat Factory will spend up to $500,000 to renovate the vacant warehouse. HQ left the Springer Road site near Wal-Mart and Home Depot almost three years ago.

Wellington said the repairs likely would include fixing any roof leaks, putting in a drop ceiling, installing tiles on the cement floors, enclosing the open gardening area, and painting the building from its beige exterior to possibly Burlington’s signature brown color. Wellington said he estimates the repairs will take only a few weeks to complete once the retailer has secured the necessary permits.

A representative of an architecture firm based in Ohio has met with Wellington about the city’s permitting process. The architecture firm already has received the city’s approval for signage, and its drawings on how the building will be renovated probably will be turned in to the city by April, Wellington said.

Burlington Coat Factory has about 300 stores nationwide and sells off-price clothing and other items in a no-frills setting. The merchandise, which includes brand-name shoes, jewelry, bath items, gifts and children’s apparel and furniture, usually retails for up to 60 percent off manufacturers’ suggested prices, Kelleher said. The company’s motto is: “We sell more than coats.”

Baby Depot, with the same pricing strategies, sells maternity, newborn, infant and toddler clothing along with children’s furniture from more than 100 vendors, Kelleher said.

Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse, with 22,000 employees, operates under the names Burlington Coat Factory, Cohoes Fashions, Decelle, Luxury Linen, Totally 4 Kids, and Baby Depot in more than 40 states. Last year, sales topped $2.4 billion, up 9.2 percent over 2000. Net income was $71 million, up 16.2 million from 2000.