Updated: Lowe's Scraps Rt. 46 Plan

A plan by Lowe's to build a 137,000-square-foot home improvement store plus a garden center on the site of a junkyard on westbound Route 46 in Montville has been scrapped, the company said.

A planner for Lowe's e-mailed the town last month saying the company was backing off its plan to build, Mayor Jim Sandham said.

Sandham said the e-mail from Lowe's didn't give a clear reason for the change of course. He said Montville officials would be seeing if anything can be done to save the project.

A spokeswoman for Lowe's on Friday said the project is off.

"Lowe’s has decided not to move forward with store development in this town," Stacey C. Lentz said Friday.

Rene Avila, the owner of the property at Route 46 and Old Bloomfield Avenue, the site of G.I. Auto Salvage Co., said he still plans to clean up and bring tenants to the property.

On Monday, Lowe's reported that its results for the quarter fell short of expectations and announced the closing of seven stores.

Montville residents stemming from the project and Lowe's was adjusting its plans in June. Proponents of the plan said it would have created jobs, brought in tax revenue and cleaned up a junkyard in town.