The Buzz this week isn’t going to let a blizzard get in the way, not when there’s Maine’s first potential Subway with a putting green and new manufacturing jobs to talk about.
On Monday night, the Lewiston Planning Board unanimously approved a 1,860-square-foot Subway restaurant for the corner of Mollison Way and Main Street.
City Planner David Hediger said the franchisees who own the Subway a few hundred feet away on Main Street are behind the new project; they lease that building, and here, they’d own it.
But that’s not all.
According to plans filed with the city, the new Subway, estimated at a $700,000 project, includes a drive-thru and outdoor patio and developers have carved out space for a potential future putting green. They also plan to build a second, 3,000-square-foot building and divide it in half, likely leasing it to tenants for office or professional space.
“The Subway building will be built first and two other phases will include either a putting green or the office building or both,” Hediger said. “It could happen in five years, it could happen in five months — it really depends upon financing and interest in that other building.
“They have the room, and as far as they know, they would be the first Subway with a putting green in Maine,” he said. “We’ll see if it happens. It’s low on the list, but they like the idea for it.”
The 1.9-acre lot between the CareerCenter and Main Street was purchased by developers One Mollison Way last year.
A representative was back at City Hall on Tuesday morning pulling building permits, Hediger said.
“He is anxious; he was ready to get going,” Hediger said.
Getting more jobs
The Planning Board also unanimously approved an $800,000, 11,908-square-foot addition to the Clariant plant at 17 Foss Road.
The Lewiston factory right now is just over 24,000 square feet.
The company’s described in documents to the board as “a global leader in color and additive concentrates and performance solutions for plastics” with 3,100 employees at 50-plus plants worldwide.
Thirty-one people work at Clariant locally and the expansion will add 10 jobs.
(Its application also notes plans for a future 7,087-square-foot expansion.)
Hediger said it was his understanding that Clariant wants to break ground in the spring.
On Monday night, the board also approved an anticipated expansion for Compounding Solutions in Lewiston, news the company had announced was coming in January, bringing 30 jobs with it.
“It’s exciting,” Hediger said. “There’s new job creation with all three of those (Clariant, Compounding Solutions and Subway). It was a good night from an economic development perspective.”
Getting inspired
Thinking spring, construction, new cabinets, new pavers or how to unfunkify your basement?
The sixth annual Maine Home Show is this weekend at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
Organizer Travis Dow said more than 3,000 people turned out last year and, once again, the exhibit space is booked up with 85-plus vendors.
“Indoor, outdoor, on top of your roof, in your yard, you name it,” Dow said.
Half of the vendors are from the Lewiston-Auburn area, the rest from around Maine and a few from out of state. The show runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults, free for kids and teens.
“You can look on Pinterest and online to get design ideas, but you don’t really get an idea of what the products really look like in real life until you’re standing on the pavers or holding that piece of siding that has a special texture on it,” Dow said. “Everybody’s situation is different and until you talk to somebody who really knows what they’re talking about, they can make recommendations for you. (It’s) a lot of connecting.”
Getting your vote on
The candidates are ready and waiting.
A total of 89 people were nominated across 10 categories to be the next 40 under 40 in Uplift LA’s annual fete. Among them are restaurateurs, artists, educators, even a mayor to choose from. Click on each name online to see a bio pop-up and learn more about each mover, shaker and difference-maker.
Voting opened March 13 and runs for two weeks.
Quick hits about business comings, goings and happenings. Have a Buzzable tip? Contact staff writer Kathryn Skelton at 689-2844 or kskelton@sunjournal.com.
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