The Farmington Diner continues to serve three meals a day, seven days a week, while its owner awaits word from Rite Aid on the giant drug store's offer to buy his property. Russell "Rusty" Wood, who lives in Florida, said the deal with Rite Aid has not yet closed.

"I have not heard a word from them. Once they give me a date, I will have 30 days to close a deal on the building," he said.

"I am still trying to sell it. A couple of guys told me they were interested and are checking out what it will cost to move it. But I don't have anything definite. I'm selling it as is, where it is," Wood said.

If he can't find anyone to take it, it will have to be razed, he said.

Calls on Friday to Bruce Carrier, spokesman for the developer, were not returned.

According to the site review application presented to the Farmington Planning Board last spring, the company planned to break ground for the 14,673- square-foot pharmacy on Main Street in September with completion expected in May. Rite Aid has an older store in West Farmington that would be closed when the new, larger store opens.

Wood works in construction in Florida. His brother, Brian, is the diner's manager.

"I know everyone is curious about what will happen. The diner is a big part of Farmington's history," he said.

Rite Aid plans to also buy the C.N. Brown Co. gas station and the site of the former Quizno's Subs to make way for the new store.

Farmington's Code Enforcement Officer Steve Kaiser also said he has not heard from Carrier on the company's plans or the reason for the delay.

A major challenge to the engineers was constructing a drugstore in the flood plain and the need to design something that could withstand a 100-year flood, officials said during the plan's review. The area floods whenever the Sandy River overflows its banks. During the flood of 1987, stores along that road were submerged in more than four feet of water.

During discussions with the planning board, the engineers said they had to come up with a design that would flood-proof the building and prevent pharmaceuticals from floating away, which would be a public safety hazard. Options were high shelving, building up the grade or anchoring it into the ground with a massive amount of concrete.

Calls to left for the flood management department of the State Planning Office, which has oversight of such projects, were not returned Friday.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has issued the developer a simple permit-by-rule for the project since the plans did not trigger a full application for a natural resource protection permit and a site location permit, according to Ross Knapper at the DEP's permitting office.

He said the project was not large enough to require the more in-depth review and also it is being built on existing concrete and pavement.

Originally published online here: http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4458539.html