A new retail development is in the planning stages for Washington. Gorrill Palmer, an engineering firm based in South Portland, has submitted an application for the project on behalf of AFD Properties, L.L.C, of Charlotte, North Carolina. 

 The proposed location is currently a wooded lot at the southeast corner of Route 17 and Valley Road. The development includes a 10,640 square foot building and 35 associated parking spaces on a two acre lot. 

 Kaleb Bourassa and Andrew Kurmin of Gorrill Palmer appeared before the Washington Planning Board on Nov. 12 to present the application. 

 “It is going to be a convenience-style store with groceries, other household items.” Kurmin said. “We’re of the opinion that the proposed use is desired within the zoning district.”

 Several members of the Board questioned the application’s failure to identify an occupant of the new building. Kurmin said AFD Properties has not yet secured a tenant. 

 “A Dollar General Store” is listed at least four times in the application. AFD Properties has secured a loan from TD Bank “to acquire and construct a Dollar General Store.” The submitted photometrics plan includes a report from US LED prepared for “Dollar General” on Sep. 23 for “DG #30925 - Washington ME.”  

 The applicant is listed as J.P. Lanning on behalf of AFD Properties, LLC, 1100 E. Morehead St., Charlotte. No website was identified for "AFD Properties, L.L.C." of Charlotte. The applicant shares a name, mailing address, and direct phone number with John P. Lanning of Primax Properties, Inc.

 Chair Kristie Grant asked if Gorrill Palmer has, “any prospects or a thought as to what is actually going to be in there.”

 “We know it’s going to be a grocery-type use,” said Kurmin. Bourassa said they could look into it and get back to the Planning Board. 

 “We know what it is,” said Washington Code Enforcement Officer Zachary Herrick, who also said that Gorrill Palmer has built nine Family Dollar stores in Maine. 

 The site plan application, dated Oct. 17, includes applications for the site plan and building permit, a subsurface wastewater (septic) permit, a 911 address, and a driveway entrance permit. 

 The 76-foot by 140-foot building will include 9,325 square feet of retail space and 1,315 square feet of stocking space. The septic system application accounts for 13 employees in the building at any one time. 

 The project has been in the works for several months. The application includes a July 3 letter from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, which states the Department has not documented any rare biological species at the site.

The 230-page application is available on the Town’s website.

 In October 2023, Gorrill Palmer appeared before the Planning Board in the Town of Lincolnville with a similar application on behalf of Primax Properties, L.L.C.

 Citizen opposition to the project led the Town to vote in favor of a temporary moratorium on commercial developments in December 2023. 

 A site visit is currently scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 3:45 p.m. A public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 6:30 p.m. in the Bryant Room at the Gibbs Library, 40 Old Union Road, Washington.