FREEPORT, ME-Outdoor clothing and gear retailer LL Bean has partnered with a Boston developer to build a $40-million, 113,000-sf retail, shopping and restaurant complex on the site of the retailer's flagship outlet store here.
Chris McCormick, president and CEO of LL Bean, says in a statement that the firm's new Village Center is a result of recommendations made by the Freeport Vision 2010 task force, which suggested a broader retail mix and centralized structured parking to improve Downtown.
"What you see here is a direct reflection of the efforts of many to make those recommendations a reality, and is the culmination of years of planning and careful thinking about how to take Freeport Village--the original lifestyle shopping venue--to the next level as a premier destination," McCormick explains.
Berenson Associates Inc. of Boston will develop the 6.3-acre site on Depot and Mill streets; the complex will be designed by Arrowstreet Inc. The complex, which will have two levels of underground parking, also includes a larger hunting and fishing store, expanded green space and other improvements. During the construction, LL Bean will move its flagship office across the street from its current location.
Officials from LL Bean and Berenson Associates could be reached for more comment by GlobeSt.com's deadline.
The development follows on the heels of an announcement by the Maine-based retailer that it would open 26 new retail stores throughout the country over the next few years. L.L. Bean also is expanding its warehouse and distribution center in Freeport for a total investment of $60 million in the town, McCormick adds.
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