ORONO, Maine — The long empty former Ames Department Store will soon be bouncing with activity when an indoor trampoline park opens in the 40,000-square-foot space, said Lewiston businessman and owner David Cheng.
The Orono Trampoline Park is under construction at 6 Stillwater Ave., and will have several different types of trampolines, Cheng said.
“It’s a trampoline park and arcade,” he said Thursday, standing outside the former department store.
Ames left in 2002 when the national chain closed 20 stores in Maine and 327 stores nationwide. It left 1,012 full- and part-time employees in Maine without jobs, including 81 at Bangor’s Airport Mall store on Union Street.
At that time, Ames was the nation’s fourth-largest discount retailer, with annual sales of $2.7 billion.
Cheng said he’ll employ 15 to 20 people at the park, which will be modeled after the Aero Air Park in Lewiston, which is owned by his friend.
“This one is much, much bigger at 40,000 square feet,” he said. “There will be a lot of fun right here.”
The indoor park should open in the next couple of months, Cheng said.