Cabela's, retail complex, set sights on mid-May opening

February 09, 2008

Construction is on schedule at The Gateway in Scarborough, a 70-acre commercial complex at Maine Turnpike Exit 42 where Cabela's plans to open a store in May, officials say.

Cabela's, the nation's leading direct marketer of hunting, fishing, camping and other outdoor merchandise, will operate in the 130,000-square-foot building nearest the turnpike.

The company has begun advertising managerial positions in Scarborough on its Web site, along with full-time and part-time hourly wage jobs.

Also visible from the turnpike are three smaller buildings, comprising 48,000 square feet, that will house local and national restaurants and other retail operations. Cabela's is due to open in mid-May, said Harvey Rosenfeld, director of the Scarborough Economic Development Corp., which developed the Haigis Parkway area, where the the project is being built.

"The other retail facilities are going up pretty quickly," he said. "There are a lot of prospective tenants for the site."

Tony Armstrong, president of Northeast Properties, said he has been told that Cabela's plans to open on May 16, a Friday. Armstrong said tenants of the smaller buildings also aim to open on that date. "There's going to be a massive turnout," he said. "I've heard that Cabela's has up to 30,000 people at some of these store openings."

Armstrong said the tenants of the buildings near Cabela's include Portland Pie, a pizza restaurant and pub; Henry VIII's Cutlery, a roast beef sandwich shop; Freaky Bean coffee; Haven's Chocolates; Art Trends Gallery and Framing; The Kitchen and Cork, which offers kitchen accessories and appliances; and Siam Garden, a Thai restaurant that operates under other names in Gorham, Windham and Bar Harbor.

Famous Dave's Barbecue, a national chain restaurant, will be in another free-standing building.

"We've been working with other retailers and restaurant people, and should be announcing some other major leases soon," Armstrong said.

When it approved contract zoning in 2006 to enable Cabela's to move forward, the Scarborough Town Council directed developers to seek out Maine businesses as tenants.

"I think we've done a pretty good job at that," Armstrong said. "In the end, there will be some national names there, I'm sure, but at this point a large part of it has been local businesses."

Gene Beaudoin of New England Expedition LLC, which developed the project at Haigis Parkway and Payye Road, noted that many national retailers have delayed or abandoned expansion plans because of poor economic conditions.

He said the Scarborough project was buffered from that trend by the town's insistence on attracting Maine businesses. "It was something we would have like to have done anyhow, but it turned out to be really helpfu."

Cabela's has been affected by the national retail downturn. Last week, the company announced that it was retreating from its plans to open seven stores this year. It now plans to open only two -- in Scarborough and Rapid City, S.D. -- and two more in 2009, in Montana and New Jersey.

The announcement, followed a disappointing fourth-quarter earnings report from Cabela's, a publicly traded company based in Nebraska. Cabela's announced that it would scale back its retail expansion and focus this year on improving the profitability of its existing stores.

Founded in 1961, the company has 26 stores from coast to coast. In addition to outdoor merchandise, the Scarborough store will feature a mountain replica with stuffed animal specimens in re-creations of their natural habitats; a fresh-water aquarium filled with native fish; a "gun library" for gun collectors; and an indoor archery range.

The acreage in the area of the Cabela's store accounts for only half of The Gateway at Scarborough. About 35 more acres are across Payne Road, and site work has begun there as well.

Developers hope to put office buildings, a hotel, more retail space and a day care center on that part of the property, Armstrong said, but no leases have been signed.

Rosenfeld, at Scarborough Economic Development, said he expects continued development in the Haigis Parkway area, even though poor economic conditions may be slowing the rate of growth.

"I've been here through two or three recessions, and we've always held our own," he said.