Ex-Navy commissary eyed as 'food hub' in Topsham
JHR Development of Maine is eyeing the former Navy commissary in Topsham as a local food hub.
The company, which built the Maine Street Station mixed-use complex in Brunswick, received site plan approval from Topsham in mid-October and hopes to sign by mid-November a purchase-and-sale agreement with the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, which is redeveloping the former Navy Annex in Topsham following the closure of the Brunswick Naval Air Station in 2011.
According to the Bangor Daily News, two companies have been lined up as prospective tenants: Wicked Joe Coffee, now located in Brunswick, and Maine Harvest Co., which plans to help small- and medium-scale farmers gain access to large markets by aggregating their produce and by providing processing capabilities for added value.
Wicked Joe Coffee, owned by Bob and Carmen Garver, has a pending Community Development Block Grant seeking $270,000 and expects the expansion in Topsham would add at least nine jobs to its current work force of 12 people now employed in a 10,000-square-foot facility in Brunswick. It plans to occupy 25,000 square feet at the former Topsham commissary, the newspaper reported.
Maine Harvest Co., owned by Jamien Richardson and Tod Yankee, is working with Coastal Enterprises Inc. on financing. It also is seeking a $240,000 CDBG grant and expects to create eight or more jobs in Topsham.
Project manager Mike Lyne told the newspaper that JHR Development’s goal is to have both tenants operating out of the former commissary by early 2014.
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