WINDHAM – Maine Standards Co., located in the North Windham Shopping Plaza since 2000, is set to leave its Windham base and build a more accommodating and efficient space off Route 1 in Cumberland.

The Cumberland Planning Board approved a subdivision plan last week proposed by Maine Standards, which would build a 29,000-square-foot, two-story building at the corner of Tuttle Road and Route 1.

Having grown from an original 1,800 square feet space to 20,000 square feet spread out over about a half-dozen former storefronts in the shopping center, the company has been seeking new office space for about three years, as it became apparent the Windham location wasn’t conducive to its needs.

Instead, company officials have been looking for suitable space for about three years in Windham and elsewhere that would better assist their business, which is making health care diagnostic calibration equipment. Specifically, the company makes devices that test whether diagnostic machines are working properly.

While searching for suitable technology-oriented office space has proven difficult in greater Portland, the company has also been working for the last couple years with an engineering firm and architect to design a new building. Construction on the new building, plans for which received approval last week, will likely start in August or September, with employees moving in about a year from now.

Founder and president Tom Happy, who resides on nearby Little Sebago Lake, said he opened the company in Windham to be close to home. When seeking a new space, Happy said he looked in Windham, but couldn’t find a suitable location since most commercial real estate is geared toward industrial or retail uses, rather than offices and laboratory space.

“I wish that Windham had a corporate vision. It’s a mix of industrial and business entities. And with a resort community like Windham, does that even fit? I don’t know. To cater to corporate America? Either way, it just isn’t here,” Happy said.

Happy also pointed out the lack of a nearby hotel. That, he said, has presented a longtime unmet need for the company, which frequently welcomes officials from the diagnostic tools companies it does business with, such as Siemens, Roche Diagnostics and Johnson & Johnson.

“That has always been a problem for visitors. When they do come to visit, they stay by the airport or in Portland, because there just isn’t a convenient place to put up visitors like that in town here,” Happy said.

Windham stands to lose the 52 employees at Maine Standards, who have a median salary of around $50,000, according to chief operating officer Dean Miller.

As part of the deal with Cumberland, the company will receive a property tax break of 50 percent during the course of 20 years, with the total amount of tax forgiveness not to exceed $500,000. Despite the welcome incentive, Miller said, the tax break did not factor heavily into the decision to move to Cumberland.

“I think for any small company, it’s always helpful. Cash flow is very important for a small company that’s growing,” Miller said. “So to me, it can definitely help. But I can also say that was not the No. 1 priority. We just haven’t found anything that we felt was the right look anywhere around. And that’s what it really comes down to.”

Miller said the town of Windham made an effort to try to hold onto the company.

“Oh, they absolutely did. A lot of it, was we couldn’t find a property that had the right look,” Miller said.

The person at Town Hall doing that reaching out was Tom Bartell, Windham’s economic development director. During the last several years, Bartell has seen a fair share of Windham businesses fold, mostly restaurants, however. Large companies with good wages and benefits have also moved in or been replaced, as well, most notably Windham Weaponry last year.

The company leased space and did not pay property taxes to Windham. However, since the business uses equipment, Windham received $3,190 last year in personal property tax, according to Windham’s tax assessor.

Maine Standards’ loss will trickle through the local economy, since many employees went to lunch or dinner in North Windham and did their shopping after work. But both Bartell and Dan Hancock, Sebago Lake Region Chamber of Commerce vice president, remain optimistic.

“While we are disappointed that Maine Standards did not find a suitable location for their new facility in Windham, we are pleased that the company’s employees, many of whom live in Windham and the Lakes Region, will be able to continue their work with the company,” Bartell said. “This also means that there will be a large vacancy in our commercial district that will occur when Maine Standards leaves, and we are more than willing to work with the property owner to help fill that location.”

Referencing The Retail Coach, a Texas-based company the town recently hired to conduct a market analysis of North Windham and surrounding areas, Hancock said the exit of Maine Standards could mean more room for new retailers. And with Windham having one of the lowest commercial vacancy rates in the region, the vacant space will open the door to other parties.

“When you lose a strong business such as Maine Standards, there is going to be an impact. But the Windham market is still strong with the lowest vacancy rate in greater Portland, and retail sales are on the rise over the last year,” Hancock said. “If there is a silver lining, it is that we have a vacancy at a time when the town is working with The Retail Coach to bring new merchants to Windham. This is as opportunity for us to fill a gap in our market, in a prime location for retailers. If done correctly, we have a chance to add a new business to Windham that will be a draw for consumers throughout the Lakes Region, which will benefit other local businesses in the long run.”

Miller said the company will be sad to leave Windham, but added that the company is a little out of place for North Windham, which is known as a retail shopping center.

“And for us, retail is not important. There’s no people coming off the street to visit us. We’re selling our product via phone and shipping to labs. So, for us, it doesn’t look right for what we are,” Miller said.

Happy, who had nothing but praise for the landlord, Ken Ray, also a shareholder in the company, said the firm plans to expand in coming years to 75 employees, a prospect that can only take place if the business moves to a new location. However, with renovations conducted through the years, Happy is confident a new tenant can be found.

“[Ray’s] done a great job. The insides of this are very laboratory quality, so it’d be great for a doctor’s complex,” Happy said.