WATERVILLE — Day’s Jewelers, a longtime business in downtown Waterville with stores throughout Maine and New Hampshire, is planning to move its corporate offices from the upper floors of 88 Main St. to The Elm on College Avenue.
Day’s is leasing the main floor of The Elm at 21 College Ave. from owner Bill Mitchell, who formerly had an event center there. Renovations are ongoing to develop offices and conference space, and Day’s officials plan to move the company’s offices this summer.
Day’s President Joe Corey said in a news release Thursday the company’s current office lease is up for renewal next month, the corporate team has expanded in recent years and the company needs a new location that can accommodate the increasing number of staff members.
The Boulos Co. found the solution in The Elm, which offers 10,972 square feet of space.
Corey declined to say how much it will cost to prepare the space for Day’s offices, but said it is a “significant investment.”
Mitchell said Day’s is the type of high-quality tenant he seeks for his properties.
“I’ve known the owners for many years and have always been impressed with their strategic vision and execution of their business plan to achieve success as a jewelry retailer,” Mitchell said in the release. “Joe Corey and Dave Gilman (vice president of finance) are well-positioned to take Day’s to the next level of success.”
Mitchell later told the Morning Sentinel the City Council chambers, First Congregational Church United Church of Christ and its related Essentials Closet will remain on the lower level of the building.
He said Day’s has been a staple in Waterville for many years and the city is fortunate to have the retailer downtown, particularly during the city’s critical phase of revitalization.
“For them to recommend their corporate offices to remain in downtown Waterville shows their confidence in the future of downtown,” Mitchell said. “That, in itself, should be attractive and appealing to others who are contemplating locating there, following Day’s Jewelers’ lead.”
Now an employee-owned company with 140 workers and eight stores, Day’s was founded by the Davidson family in 1914 in Portland. In 1988, Corey’s parents, northern Maine natives Jeff and Kathy Corey, along with Jeff’s brother, Jim Corey, and another partner bought the company.
Jeff and Kathy Corey retired in 2021 and Day’s was sold to employees under an employee stock ownership program. Jeff and Kathy Corey remain on the company’s board of directors.
The ground floor of The Elm at 21 College Ave. in Waterville is to become the new home of the corporate offices for Day’s Jewelers. The building is shown Thursday. Day’s Jewelers will keep its retail store open on Main Street in downtown Waterville. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
“This is a significant opportunity for our employee-owned company,” Joe Corey said in Thursday’s release. “It sets us up for future growth while allowing us to stay in Waterville, which has supported us for so many years.”
Along with the Waterville store, which is to remain on Main Street, Day’s has stores in Auburn, Augusta, Bangor, South Portland and Topsham, as well as Manchester and Nashua, New Hampshire.
Joe Corey said Thursday in a telephone interview that about 40 employees from two floors above the retail store on Main Street will move to the new offices, likely by Aug. 1. They include finance, IT, marketing and human resources employees.
Cameron Foster and Craig Young represented Day’s in leasing space at The Elm, and Day’s officials are working with Maine Design + Build on the interior.
In 2016, Day’s was chosen Retailer of the Year by the Retail Association of Maine, and in 2017 the company was named Corporate Retailer of the Year by the Women’s Jewelry Association.
It has been named among the best places to work in Maine for the past seven years by the Society for Human Resources Management-Maine State Council.
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