MILO – Town officials took a big step toward improving the local economy by deeding the first lot in the Eastern Piscataquis Industrial Park to Mayo Regional Hospital.

The hospital plans to construct a 5,000-square-foot medical building similar to the Bingham Health Center to serve patients from the Milo-Brownville region.

“The new facility for Milo Family Practice addresses the concerns of all rural communities and that is the need to find the capacity to provide quality health care for both residents and potential employees of the park,” Town Manager Jane Jones said Friday.

Jones said Mayo’s construction should help spur growth in the industrial park.

The industrial park is a joint project between Milo and Brownville. Milo fronted the cost of the 155-acre parcel with the understanding that Brownville will pay half of the mortgage once a development corporation has been formed.

The deed for 2.6 acres given to the hospital was in the name of the town of Milo, but an addendum stipulates that the property provided to the hospital is considered part of the industrial park project and that for all future purposes involving the park, Brownville is considered a full partner, Jones said.

The hospital plans to have Sheridan Corp. of Fairfield construct the facility, which will house Milo Family Practice.

“The building we have on Park Street [in Milo] is way too small for our needs right now,” said Tom Lizotte, Mayo Regional Hospital’s marketing and development director.

The practice, started in 1999, now has about 2,000 patient files, he said. He said no other buildings suitable for the needs of the practice were found in the community.

Lizotte said the building will be “very similar” to the Bingham Health Center, which has a large waiting area, 10 examination rooms, two laboratories, a large business office, a conference room, and two doctors’ offices. The facility will serve two full-time doctors and a physician’s assistant.

The hospital will be financing the approximately $650,000 construction project through the Maine Municipal Bond Bank, according to Lizotte. Furnishings are not included in that price, he said.

Ben Dever, director of Mayo Practice Associates, of which the Milo Family Practice is a member, said Friday that construction is expected to start in early August.