The goal to open is in Q1 2027. With Bucksport, the Tennessee retailer will have 24 stores in Maine. Locations range from Madawaska to Sanford.
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The Bucksport Planning Board approved a proposal to develop a Tractor Supply Co. store at 116 Acadia Highway, also known as U.S. Route 1, in Bucksport.
The Tennessee-based retailer has built a statewide presence in Maine, from Madawaska in the north to Sanford in the south. This will be store No. 24 in Maine. Tractor Supply sells products related to home improvement, land maintenance, agriculture and pet care.For the Bucksport site, Sam Malafronte of Monroe, Conn.-based Solli Engineering LLC submitted the application on behalf of the applicant, Maitland, Fla.-based Palm Coast Capital LLC, led by Matthew Darling.
The project, on a 6.86-acre steeply sloped site of woodlands and wetlands, includes construction of a 21,930-square-foot retail building and 16,900-square-foot fenced outdoor display area, 63 parking spaces, including accessible spaces, three trailer parking spaces, internal drive aisles, drainage infrastructure, landscaping and site lighting.
‘Rural lifestyle’
Based in Brentwood, Tenn., Tractor Supply (NASDAQ: TSCO), founded in 1938, calls itself “the largest rural lifestyle retailer” in the U.S. Its first store opened in Minot, N.D., in 1939. As of Sept. 27, 2025, the company operated 2,364 stores in 49 states and had 52,000 employees. Third-quarter earnings were a record $3.72 billion.
In Maine, it has stores in Scarborough, Sanford, Windham, Brunswick, Lewiston, Augusta, Oxford, Bangor, Belfast, Calais, Dover-Foxcroft, Ellsworth, Holden, Houlton, Madawaska, Millinocket, Palmyra, Presque Isle, Rumford, Skowhegan, Thomaston, Waterville and Wilton. The Bucksport store will open in the first quarter of 2027.
Operations will include retail sales and service within the building, outdoor sales and storage within a fenced display area, sidewalk display of merchandise along the building façade, permanent trailer and equipment display area, installation and operation of a greenhouse and outdoor display and sale of propane from a 1,000-gallon tank and welding gas; trailers, farm equipment and small vehicles such as mini-bikes, go-karts and all-terrain vehicles; live plants, flowers, shrubs, trees, hay, forage and garden supplies; pet grooming and washing services; and non-boarding veterinary services.
Operations will occur seven days a week, typically between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., with staff arriving at 7 a.m. and leaving at 10 p.m. Deliveries would generally be limited to once per week.
Traffic, noise
At the planning board’s meeting earlier this week, neighboring residents expressed concern about traffic, noise and lighting during construction and once the store is operating. Increased traffic, from customers and from tractor-trailers making deliveries to the store, was a particular concern for the peak summer tourist season.
The year-long construction timeline, with ledge blasting and truck traffic, was “a huge concern” for one neighbor with children.
Sam Malafronte, an engineer with Solli who spoke for the applicant, said the company has submitted data to the Maine Department of Transportation and is awaiting permit approval. A landscape buffering design is also underway, he said.
Contingent on state approvals, the goal is to start construction in April or May, he said. The construction period typically takes 26 weeks, followed by time for stocking and assembling and training the team. The goal for opening is in the first quarter of 2027.