BIDDEFORD, Maine — FedEx will open a ground distribution facility at the former Hostess bakery at 1 Bakers Way this summer, but it’s unknown how many will be employed.
The news was announced Thursday at the Maine Real Estate and Development Association’s annual forecast conference in Portland.
The Journal Tribune confirmed the announcement through Justin Lamontagne, a broker at Portland-based NIA The Dunham Group, and was reported the story on journaltribune.com at 4:18 p.m. Thursday. Lamontagne presented the news at the MEREDA conference.
The bakery closed in 2012 following a strike in Biddeford and at Hostess bakeries nationwide. About 400 people lost their jobs because of the Biddeford closing.
In July 2013, Georgia-based Flowers Foods purchased the 265,000-square-foot facility, which sits on 40 acres off the Maine Turnpike spur, for $15.3 million, according to online city records.
In October 2014, the property was sold again for $6.8 million to Biddeford Holdings LLC, a partnership between New Mill Capital and Gordon Bros., and the equity firm promptly put it on the market.
The property most recently was assessed at $9.2 million.
FedEx has agreed to lease the property and anticipates opening a ground distribution facility there in July, David Westrick, a spokesman for the company, said in an email Thursday.
“The new facility will join an existing station on Industrial Park Road in Saco, enabling us to continue to meet and exceed customer demands in the Portland area,” Westrick said. “Exact staffing needs have yet to be determined, but the facility will employ a mix of full- and part-time employees. We will add to the work force as necessary to support increased demand for service in the area.”
Westrick said the site appealed to FedEx because of its closeness to major roads such as Interstate 95 and Route 1, as well as a strong work force in the community. The new facility is part of a nationwide expansion of FedEx ground locations, he said.
CBRE/The Boulos Co., a commercial real estate agency that has an office in Portland, brokered the deal.
Neither FedEx nor the real estate agency released information regarding the terms of the lease. A brochure on The Boulos Co. website advertises the property for lease at $5 per square foot.
Daniel Stevenson, the city’s economic and community development director, said Thursday the city is very pleased with the news.
“We look forward to the investment and the new jobs it will create in the city of Biddeford,” Stevenson said.
In a phone call following his presentation at the MEREDA conference, Lamontagne said the news is an indication of the area’s improving commercial real estate market.
“The market in Biddeford and Saco has improved greatly over the last few years in the industrial sector,” he said. “This is a major boon to Biddeford, and further tightens the inventory down there.”
A representative from Biddeford Holdings did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.