Family-owned Bangor Retailer Triathlete Sports Buys Bigger Space

Since the Family Dollar on State Street in Bangor closed up shop and the building was put on the market, everybody's been wondering what's to become of that prime piece of real estate. Today, we're a little closer to finding out. While official plans have not yet been unveiled, we know now who purchased the place.

Realty of Maine agent Tricia Largay, who helped broker the sale of the building, announced Friday that it will remain a retail space going forward.

"We are absolutely over the moon to announce that the closed sale of this prime commercial building on the bustling corner of Broadway and State Street is officially FINALIZED!... We could not be more thrilled for the future of this iconic Bangor location. With its massive 50+ parking lot, spacious retail floor, and convenient loading dock, this building has a long history —and its next chapter is going to bring so much joy and growth to our incredible Bangor community! "

According to City records, that particular parcel was valued at $1,226,800 for the land and building combined.

A quick check over at the Penobscot County Registry of Deeds shows that the sale did go through this week, but makes no mention of a mortgage, which usually means the building was bought and paid for entirely. The listing shows that Knapp Foods Inc, out of Framingham, Massachusetts, which has owned the building since 2019, sold the building this week to Triathlete Sports Inc.

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Triathlete Sports is located at 186 Exchange Street in Bangor, and it has been in business in the Queen City for more than 20 years.

Their website says they sell swimming, biking, and running gear, mostly online, for both competitive participants and beginners alike.

"Triathlete Sports is a family-owned Maine company with Maine values for outstanding customer service. It is our goal to make shopping for triathlon gear fun and easy. No need to contact us for availability- if you can order it on TriathleteSports.com, it is in stock! No backorders, no surprises after you place an order- anything that you can order on Triathletesports.com is available and ready to ship."

The building the business is currently occupying is a 9,500+ square foot, multi-leveled historic building with no personnel elevator that would enable the movement of staff bringing merchandise up and down to different floors within the space.

The business confirmed Friday evening that it did buy the State Street property and has plans to expand.

"We’re excited to confirm that Triathlete Sports has purchased the former Family Dollar building at 89 State Street in Bangor. This is a huge step for us—and honestly, both exciting and a little intimidating. After more than 20 years on Exchange Street, we’ve simply outgrown our current space. The new building will give our retail store more room to breathe, make our warehouse and shipping operations more efficient, provide customers with easier access and plenty of parking, and give us the space to continue growing right here in Bangor."

The old Family Dollar space is a 14,000-square-foot, single-story building with ample parking, which would be an upgrade for a retail business like theirs.

Several projects are also in development for that section of State Street in the near future.

The old Subway shop across the street got a facelift and opened as "Top Of The Hill Subs" this summer.

This May, the City of Bangor approved a plan to allow the County Federal Credit Union to build a new building in the empty lot that used to house the 711, at 96 State Street. Construction for that project should get underway next spring.

The folks over at the All Souls Church on the opposite corner of State Street are currently constructing a brand new multi-purpose facility to replace the aging infrastructure they had in place that was no longer salvageable.

So that section of State Street in Bangor is definitely getting an exciting and long-overdue facelift.

We'll be eager to see how it all turns out.