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The storefront now occupied by L.L. Bean at 542 Congress St. is not a traditional retail space, which limits its ability to compete with mall operators.

2009 Press Herald File

PORTLAND — L.L. Bean's plan to leave Congress Street next year has raised the question: Just what does Portland need downtown?

City officials said they will work with the building's owners, their retail brokers, the Portland Downtown District and others to take a good look at the market and what might work at 542 Congress St., for a potential business and for consumers.

Bean announced this month that it will close its outlet store on Congress Street in September 2010, when its lease expires. It is one of a dwindling number of stores that offer reasonably priced clothes and other goods downtown, easily accessible to residents of the peninsula and those who work in the area.

"Having L.L. Bean there was a good anchor for the downtown, it really helped to draw people in," said City Councilor David Marshall, who lives downtown. "At the same time, L.L. Bean provided a lot of essentials to downtown residents that they might not be able to find otherwise – such as clothing, footwear, outdoor-related stuff."

Marshall said the next tenant for the space ideally would be a retailer such a grocer or a business that sells dry goods, as L.L. Bean does. The urban lifestyle revolves around minimal use of the automobile, with necessary goods and services close by, he said.

A large retailer selling groceries or dry goods would be ideal, said Councilor Kevin Donoghue, another downtown resident. He acknowledged that if finding such a tenant is difficult, a landlord might break the property into smaller spaces.

That would likely bring in speciality retailers, probably selling "fewer needful things," he said.

There has been a bit of buzz about two tenants seen as suitable for the spot that Bean has occupied since 1996: Maine-based Renys and Trader Joe's, an upper-end grocer.

Alison Mochizuki, spokeswoman for California-based Trader Joe's, said Monday that "Portland, Maine, is not in our two-year plan."

Bob Reny, an owner of the department store chain, was a bit more positive.

"We keep looking at downtown Portland or in and around Portland," he said. "We have a lot of people asking us to be in that area."

Reny said the company is aware of L.L. Bean's spot but it is a bit small for a Renys. The company also looked at the Wild Oats space on Marginal Way, he said, and found it too small.

Renys stores work in spaces of 35,000 square feet or more, Reny said.

The L.L. Bean outlet store is 20,000 square feet.

Drew Sigfridson, a broker with CB Richard Ellis/The Boulos Co. who was hired to market the property, said it will list both the L.L. Bean space and the Olympia Sports property in the same building, for a total of 26,000 square feet. That space could be broken into smaller areas, and will be marketed at 3,500 to 26,000 square feet, he said.

The property is owned by FFD Trust. Craig Foster is the owner of the trust and Marc Foster, his son, is a trustee. Marc Foster said Monday that they hadn't yet spoken with Olympia, but he noted that the company is on an annual lease.

"We suspect they will leave as well," said Foster. "I would say that it is likely – that is why we're marketing it."

Bean and Olympia have separate leases, said Foster, but Bean is the anchor that Olympia relies on. Olympia's president, Richard Coffey, had no comment.

The Westbrook-based sporting goods retailer has more than 180 stores throughout New England, New York and Pennsylvania, according to its Web site.

On the site, under criteria for new store locations, the company says it looks at "regional strip centers anchored by big box discounters and/or department stores."

Sigfridson said he is contacting retailers regarding the space, and hasn't fielded calls of interest. It's a challenging time for retailers, he said, and the space isn't typical.

"It's not a traditional retail space," he said. "A lot (of retailers) want to be in the mall with a big parking lot – this is not that type of space."

But the space offers benefits, he said.

"This space anchors downtown Portland. We just need to find a real strong retailer that can benefit from that," said Sigfridson.

Greg Mitchell, Portland's economic development director, said he hopes to have a comprehensive analysis of the market's needs and the potential for the space done within several months, so the city can "hit the floor running in the early part of next year."

Portland works cooperatively with South Portland, Scarborough and Westbrook on economic development and business attraction, said Mitchell.

The goal is to bring new investment to Maine from out of state, he said. "I want to grow the business base in Maine."

Staff Writer Matt Wickenheiser can be contacted at 791-6316 or at: mwickenheiser@pressherald.com