In 1994, the opening of the Fairgrounds Marketplace was a big deal for Skowhegan. It was the first new shopping center since 1978, Walmart opened and later Shop’n save relocated from the Kennebec Village plaza. The plaza is located adjacent to the Skowhegan Fairgrounds.

The layout of the property is Walmart located far back, a vacant space for future stores and the supermarket located alongside Madison Avenue. There is also room for future stores or restaurants on two pad sites. At one point, Shop’n save was renamed Hannaford. The site plans shows that the store could be expanded in the future, same thing for Walmart which could add up to 30,000 sq.ft.

Walmart was renovated, and painted inside and out with the new “Tan” color used at other stores.  In 2009-2010, Walmart proposed to add the 30,000 sq.ft. of space to their current store.  

Nothing ever happened to the vacant land slated to welcome smaller stores and make the site a true shopping center. As of today, the space between Walmart and Hannaford remains undeveloped.

Eventually, the Walmart expansion project was done.