YARMOUTH — Cole Haan will move its offices to Scarborough this summer.

According to a press release from CBRE-The Boulos Co. in Portland, Cole Haan has leased about 38,000 square feet of office space at 6 Ashley Drive in the Roundwood Business Park off Payne Road.

The Scarborough location is a 54,000-square-foot, three-story office building. Cole Haan will occupy the second and third floors. Drew Sigfridson of Boulos said all of of Cole Haan’s Yarmouth employees are expected to make the move.

Harvey Rosenfeld, executive director of the Scarborough Economic Development Corp., said about 110 to 120 employees are expected to move to the new office, which was previously used by Idexx Laboratories. He said the move could be an inconvenience for employees who live near the existing Cole Haan building, but would be an improvement for others.

“It will affect some (employees) more than others, but it is positive that the  company is staying in Maine,” Rosenfeld said. “Another positive is that it will not leave an empty space in Yarmouth.”

Cole Haan sold its building at One Cole Haan Drive to Tyler Technologies in 2008 and since then has leased the space.

Tyler Technologies, at 370 Route 1, Falmouth, provides computer software and services to local governments, the public and schools. The Falmouth company is expected to move some of its operations into the current Cole Haan offices.

Patriot Insurance Co. also leases space in the nearly 80,000-square-foot Yarmouth building, which is off Route 1 near the Falmouth town line.

“This is a gem of a space, a beautiful building and we’ve had a great relationship with Cole Haan,” Patriot President Linc Merrill said Tuesday. “From the community’s standpoint, Cole Haan will move out, Tyler Technologies will move in, and besides that there will be no change.”

Merrill said his company, which moved into the building in July, 2008, has a long-term lease and occupies about 23,000 square feet on the third floor.

Dan Bacon, Scarborough town planner, said he was unaware of the Cole Haan decision. Unless the company is going to build, he said, the Planning Board would not have to know.

“They have not yet filed for a building permit or certificate of occupancy, but if they intend to move by this summer, they have plenty of time,” he said. 

Yarmouth Town Manager Nat Tupper said Cole Haan has been a great business in town. He said he had heard rumors about a move, but didn’t know to where, or when it would happen.

“We will be sad to see them go,” Tupper said.

Cole Haan was founded in 1928 as a men’s footwear label. The company was sold to George Denney of Freeport in 1975; he sold it to Nike in 1988. Its corporate headquarters are in Yarmouth, with design, merchandising and retail headquarters in New York City. The company now produces and sells men’s and women’s shoes, women’s handbags, outerwear and fashion accessories.

Neither Lisa Lavora, director of communications and public relations at Cole Haan in Yarmouth, nor Kristin Whalley, the company’s spokeswoman in New York, responded to inquiries on Tuesday.

Amy Anderson can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 110 or aanderson@theforecaster.net