Houlton eyes tenants for ex-HIC building

HOULTON – Although they have yet to solidify a deal, the Shiretown Development Corp. continues to work zestfully to lure more tenants into the former Houlton International Corp. building, Town Manager Douglas Hazlett said recently.

“We’ve had some possibilities on the table as far as tenants,” Hazlett said. “But no one has committed yet, so the board is still working hard to make things happen.”

The SDC, which acts as an economic development arm for the town, has met in executive session twice in the past few weeks to discuss a game plan for the vacant portions of the 73,000-square-foot facility. Hazlett could not comment publicly on matters discussed in the closed-door conferences, but said that board members are tag-teaming with the Southern Aroostook Development Corp. and the Northern Maine Development Commission to “look for people to bring business to the building.”

“Every time we hear of an interested business, we get together and discuss how that business might work in the building and what kind of deal we might want to offer them,” he said.

Some of the space at the building is already occupied. The sawmill building and sawdust shed are both leased by Premium Log Yards Inc., a Houlton business, which uses an additional 2 acres near the structure for a log yard.

The firm pays SDC $500 per month in rent as part of the deal.

The SDC paid $161,000 for the HIC building last July, with the goal of using the facility to attract a larger business to the area.

The group adjusted the plan late last year, however, when several smaller businesses expressed interest in leasing portions of the building.