The Kennebec Roofing Industrial Annex, or KIA, is shown Thursday during its first phase of construction at 875 China Road in Winslow. The complex, slated for completion in October, is expected to have 10 units with garage and office space for local businesses. Dylan Tusinski/Morning Sentinel

WINSLOW — Up to 10 businesses are expected to have a new home this fall when construction of a mixed-use industrial complex is finished in Winslow, officials said.

Work is underway on the first building at the 16,500-square-foot, $2.8 million Kennebec Roofing Industrial Annex at 875 China Road.

Plans call for the facility to house 10 units with storefronts, office and garage space, and year-round boat and recreational vehicle storage.

The space is designed to accommodate “midsize contractors,” such as flooring, electric and roofing companies, and is slated to open in the fall, according to George Lint II, the owner of Kennebec Roofing.

At least seven businesses have expressed interest in renting space at the facility, though Lint said he could not share the businesses’ names until the annex is closer to completion.

“We should be ready for rental by October, but quite a bit needs to happen between now and then,” Lint said. “Groundwork is already pretty much done. We’re doing it in phases, and when we work on one phase, the next phase down the road is already partially done.”

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The facility is expected to provide space for new and growing businesses, which Town Manager Ella Bowman said would provide Winslow with new jobs and economic development.

“New business means growth, and we need growth.” Bowman said Thursday in a text message. “It’s not only important to our tax base, but also promotes new jobs and needed services.”

Kennebec Roofing is providing most of the financing for the project, although Lint said he is looking for grants to fund his future plans for the site.

Garvan Donegan, who oversees planning and innovation for the Central Maine Growth Council, said the organization and the town of Winslow are looking for “public-private finance tools” to provide funding for the site.

“The $2.8 million investment in The Kennebec Roofing Industrial Annex is critically important and impactful for our community,” Donegan wrote in a statement to the news media. “This new commercial project brings much-needed commercial square-footage inventory into the Winslow and regional market.”

Businesses will have the option to customize each of the 10 units to fit their needs, Donegan said, and each unit will be mixed use, including high bay garage doors and garage space beneath a mezzanine office.

After the first building is completed, Lint plans to ramp up work on the next phase of the project: A 4,500-square-foot indoor sports facility. If the first building is well-received, he said, there might be room for more offices in future years.

“We plan on building another building on the other lot that’s just for sports,” Lint said. “We haven’t got it all completely planned out, but having a larger space devoted just to sports is what our long-term goal is.”

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