LINCOLN, Maine — A new business moving into a former Chevrolet dealership site on West Broadway might provide the Katahdin and Lincoln Lakes regions with something those areas have lacked for years — a large, standalone clothing outlet for all ages and sexes, officials said Tuesday.

Town officials declined to identify the store, as the plans are not complete, but others speaking on condition of anonymity identified the retailer as a discount men and women’s designer clothes outlet that has 21 stores in Maine, New York and Vermont.

Town officials have been told by the store’s developers that the store would go in the former dealership building, after extensive renovation. The renovations already have begun.

Economic Development Assistant Ruth Birtz said the unnamed retail store was among several recent expansions or new offerings in Lincoln.

The activity “is a really good sign that the economy is improving in Lincoln,” Birtz said Tuesday. “Hopefully, it’s a sign of bigger and better things to come.”

Tom Ellis, owner of the lot that was once the site of the former Lincoln Chevrolet auto dealership on West Broadway, did not return messages left Tuesday.

Small consignment stores, Dollar Store and Family Dollar outlets, several thrift, sporting goods and convenience stores, as well as a Wal-Mart and a Marden’s Surplus and Salvage — both in Lincoln — sell some clothing in the Katahdin and Lincoln Lakes regions, but none are full-service, standalone clothing stores.

Avanti Bridal Salon & Boutique at 184 West Broadway offers pageant, prom, lingerie, women’s sportswear and men’s tuxedo rentals, according to its Web site, avantibridalsalon.com.

Other Lincoln activity includes:

• A proposed expansion of Steaks N’ Stuff, a food outlet on Mechanic Street. Steaks N’ Stuff is one of two large food stores in Lincoln. A Hannaford Supermarket on West Broadway is the other.

Final plans have not yet been submitted, but the expansion should be considerable, town officials said.

“It will probably be a pretty big expansion, because they are talking about using more spaces in the parking lot,” Code Enforcement Officer Jerry Davis said Tuesday.

A worker at Steaks N’ Stuff said Tuesday that the store’s owners likely will discuss the proposed expansion in detail in a few weeks. The plans might be on the agenda at the next planning board meeting at the end of the month, Davis said.

• An Ashley Stoves outlet has moved into the former Evad Images storefront at 48 Main St. in Lincoln. This particular store likely will specialize in selling coal stoves, Davis said.

• Construction of a Dead River Convenience store has begun near the Benjamin Tibbetts Inc. hardware store on West Broadway. That construction is due to finish by late spring.

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