RH Foster plans bank, store for Lincoln site

LINCOLN – Competitive fuel prices and interest rates might result from RH Foster’s plans to open a convenience store with 10 fuel pumps and a savings bank adjoining Wal-Mart next year, town officials said Monday.

RH Foster Energy LLC officials began submitting paperwork for a new business permit on Thursday for the 4,500-square-foot store and single-serve carwash, 1,000-square-foot bank and 21 parking spaces, Code Enforcement Officer Jerry Davis said. No review date is set.

The company, which already has 23 convenience stores statewide, signed a purchase agreement with the estate of Walter Goding for an undisclosed sale price for the land off West Broadway on Aug. 29, Davis said. The large old barn and greenhouse on the property will be razed to make way for the new business.

The store will complement the expanded Wal-Mart due in 2009 and “will be a significant addition to West Broadway’s development,” Town Manager Glenn Aho said.

“It will further add to the competition for gas sales in town, but aside from the consumer part of it, it’s yet another testament from the business sector that Lincoln is a good investment,” Aho said Monday.

Wal-Mart’s $2.07 million plan calls for tearing down the existing 55,000-square-foot Wal-Mart and creating a 99,000-square-foot building, including an expanded retail area and a full-service grocery store, on about 21 acres at the store’s present location at 250 West Broadway by October 2008.

Town officials speculate that the convenience store would offer wholesale gasoline prices similar to those offered at Wal-Marts and other large retailers around the country. Davis estimated that at least 10 jobs would be created by the businesses.

Robert Tracy, the company’s executive vice president, did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment on Monday.

Already home to a Hannaford Supermarket, NAPA Auto Parts, Aubuchon Hardware, several car dealerships, restaurants and hair salons, West Broadway is the site where several other businesses recently have announced plans or received permits to build.

Avanti, a full-service bridal salon and women’s sportswear shop, opened adjacent to Capello Hair Studio and Day Spa at 184 West Broadway early last month, while a 7,300-square-foot Sears retail store being built at 213 West Broadway is to open on Dec. 17.

A 2,000-square-foot restaurant and a 14-room motel are also under construction near the Why Not Stop? convenience store and gasoline station on West Broadway, with completion due by spring.

Another large area draw: Health Access Network, which plans to build a 22,000-square-foot building at 175 West Broadway for $4.8 million. Slated to open in October 2008, the office will allow Health Access Network to consolidate six offices and ease the area’s primary care shortage.

One of the measures of Lincoln’s growth and its ability to draw significant commercial development, Aho said, is the growth in deposits made in the town’s six financial institutions, such as banks.

In 2003, deposits totaled $115.2 million, according to fdic.gov. In 2007, they totaled $152.6 million, an increase of about $37.4 million. To Aho, this indicates significantly increased savings, investments, payrolls and spending money in Lincoln, a town of about 5,200 an hour north of Bangor along Interstate 95.

The town is also working with a developer on creating a new town office or town hall at West Broadway and Main Street that, if approved, would feature a mix of residential and commercial developments, Aho said.

No deal has been set.

Nick Sambides Jr. can be reached at nsambides@bangordailynews.net or 794-8215.