GORHAM – The cleanup of thousands of tons of debris has paved the way for the potential re-use of the former Plan-It Recycling site in Gorham by a company the town is courting.

According to town emails, Gorham officials have been in contact with a national company, Anderson Equipment Co. Inc., about locating a facility at the 18 Gorham Industrial Parkway site in the Gorham Industrial Park, near the Westbrook city line.

Randy Mace, regional manager for the New England Division of Anderson Equipment, did not return a call on Tuesday seeking comment.

Tom Ellsworth, director of Gorham Economic Development Corp., described the company as “a distributor of industrial equipment.”

David Galbraith, Gorham’s zoning administrator, said Tuesday the town’s planning office has been working with a consultant for the Anderson company.

“I expect them to submit a site plan in the near future,” Galbraith said.

Informational material from the Planning Department distributed at the April 2 Planning Board meeting reads, “Staff has been working with a client who is considering relocating their business to Gorham. Their plans would include almost doubling the existing, but vacant 8,000-square-foot building.”

In an email to Ellsworth, who inquired earlier this year about company plans for the Plan-It Recycling property, Mace wrote that the firm distributes construction equipment.

“Our business involves the sale of equipment to contractors as well as the sale of parts and service to support the equipment,” Mace wrote.

“Our facility would consist of a service area to repair equipment along with a parts inventory area and parts counter/lobby for the sale of parts, and office space to accommodate our sales department and managers,” Mace wrote. “We would maintain an inventory of equipment for sale and rental that would be stored outside.”

With a potential business interested, the town is now considering re-zoning the property from industrial to roadside commercial, a measure unanimously recommended April 2 by the Gorham Planning Board. The zone change would need approval by the Town Council and the proposal could be on its agenda as early as Tuesday, May 1.

According to its website, the company has locations in several states. Its Maine locations are in Cumberland and Bangor while its corporate headquarters is in Bridgeville, Pa.

The town of Gorham, which claimed stockpiles of material at Plan-It Recycling had violated local rules, sought court action in 2010 to force compliance at the site. Then, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection joined the town in the lawsuit.

R.J. Grondin & Sons, a Gorham construction company who said it was one of the mortgage holders on the property, bought out other parties, cleaned up the site under court approval and is in the process of acquiring ownership. Phil Grondin Jr. said Tuesday his company technically still does not own it, as the matter is still in the court’s hands.

“That’s going to be resolved,” Grondin said, and added, “We do have an interested buyer.”

Grondin hopes to finalize sale of the property this spring, but he shied away from naming a specific company.

In cleaning up the property, Grondin said, an estimated 15,000 tons of debris were trucked to a landfill in Old Town and another estimated 2,000-3,000 tons went to a recycling facility in Scarborough. The cleanup was completed earlier this year in 45 to 60 days.

Last week, Grondin received notification that the site is clean in the eyes of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Grondin said the site has no environmental liability.

“We’re happy to have a clean site and happy to have some new neighbors,” said Grondin, whose family-owned company headquarters is nearby on Bartlett Road.

Gorham and the town’s economic development corporation are pleased with R.J. Grondin & Sons.

“They went to bat for us,” Ellsworth said.

According to tax records, 18 Gorham Industrial Parkway is an 8.3-acre site. The town’s assessed value is $668,5009.

The site abuts a Westbrook neighborhood with homes, a church and an American Legion hall. The Plan-It Recycling operation had drawn complaints from both Westbrook and Gorham neighbors.

But, Ellsworth doesn’t envision objections to a proposal by Anderson Equipment Co. to locate a facility at the former recycling site.

“It’s a good use for the location,” Ellsworth said.

There’s no sign of debris at the former Plan-It Recycling facility in Gorham. Gorham contractor R.J. Grondin & Sons cleaned up the site and has an interested buyer.