Long-delayed plans to construct a business park off Saco Street have gained new life as the city has reached an agreement to purchase a 40-acre parcel of land to be developed for the business park.

City Administrator Jerre Bryant said the city has reached a purchase and sale agreement with the Boivin family to buy the land off Saco Street for $550,000. The deal must still be approved by the City Council before it becomes final.

The Boivin family has been attempting to develop the land into the Westbrook Heights Business Park for the past three years. Bryant said about six weeks ago, the family made the decision to pull out of the project because of concerns over high development costs and limited profit potential and offered the land to the city. He said the city decided to purchase the land in an attempt to salvage the project, which it views as a vital to the city’s future economic development.

“We’re stepping in because the project was falling apart,” Bryant said.

Bryant said one of the reasons the project was falling apart was there was not a large profit margin for a private developer. He estimated that, once the city sells all of the lots in the development, the city stands to make an estimated profit of approximately $95,000.

“The numbers are tight,” Bryant said. “It does not have a whole lot of profit potential for the developer.”

The city would pay for the initial purchase of the land and infrastructure improvements to the site through a 36-month bond of $3 million, said Bryant. The city is going to use the money from the sale of the lots to pay off the loan, and Bryant expects the debt will be paid off before the three years is up.

The city has also received $900,000 in state grants for community development to help pay for infrastructure improvements for the site. Bryant said the city would be looking to sell all the lots as quickly as possible.

“I don’t want the city of Westbrook to own any piece of this property any longer than necessary,” said Bryant.

The city has ordered an appraisal on the value of the land. That appraisal, which the city released Friday, places the value of the land at $755,000, higher than the amount the city has agreed to pay for the land.

The Boivin family did not return calls seeking comment for this story.

While there is not a great deal of potential for up-front profit, Bryant said the project is attractive because it stands to bring significant economic growth to the city. “It’s a great project,” said Bryant. “It’s going to bring significant commercial valuation to the city.”

The project is already being marketed, said Bryant, and three of the seven lots are already under contract. Bryant declined to name the companies who have the lots under contract.

Bryant estimates that the new office park, once it is fully developed, would bring about 150 to 200 new jobs to the city. “It’s a very positive economic development project for the community,” he said.

Besides the new jobs, the city estimates the park would bring in approximately $210,000 to $265,000 in real estate taxes annually, $100,000 to $132,000 in personal property taxes and $50,000 to $100,000 in excise taxes for vehicles and equipment.

Bryant said the city has put together a conservative development plan for the site that the administration believes greatly reduces the risk to the city. “It’s not without risk,” Bryant said. “But if it wasn’t a low-risk project, we couldn’t bring it forward.”

Economic and Community Development Director Erik Carson agreed there was some risk to the city investing in the project, but he said the potential rewards outweigh the risk. “The city’s obviously bringing a lot to this project,” said Carson. “But we expect this project to be successful in a short period of time.”

Bryant said the lots would be especially attractive to businesses because all of the necessary state and local approvals are already in place for the business park. Any company interested in building on one of the lots would merely have to secure site plan approval from the Planning Board before proceeding with construction. “There’s a ton of interest in these sites,” he said. “It’s a real nice project.”

City Council President Jim Violette said he was not sure if he would be supporting the project. “I have some concerns on whether the city should be getting into the development business,” he said.

Violette said he could be convinced to support the project if it could be proven the city is actually paying fair market value for the land and also that the city has firm commitments from businesses for the three lots already under contract.

Carson said the project is significant because there is a great demand for large commercial space, and a majority of similar projects in surrounding towns are already full or do not have large parcels of land to be developed. “There’s good demand for the lots,” Carson said. “I think it’s very good for the city because the project fills a need that is not currently available in almost any of the surrounding towns.”

The City Council must approve the city’s plan to buy the land and proceed with the development at two readings before it becomes final. The council will give the project first reading at a special meeting tonight (June 1) at 7 p.m. in room 114 of Westbrook High School.

If the council approves the first reading of the project, it will be on the agenda for second and final reading at the council’s regular meeting on June 6 at 7 p.m. in room 114 of Westbrook High School. Both the June 1 and June 6 meetings will also be televised live on cable channel 3.

Ray Boivin stands next to the Saco Street land he plans to sell to the city.

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