AUBURN — MaineBiz has reported that VIP Inc. purchased a 15,351-square-foot office building at 24 Harriman Drive and will move its headquarters and support center across the river from Lewiston next summer.

The purchase from Patrons Oxford Insurance Co. for $1.37 million closed Oct. 6.

VIP, the owner of VIP Tires & Service, has 56 locations and 500 employees, 45 of whom will work at Harriman Drive.

In August, VIP received approval from the Lewiston Planning Board to expand the parking lot at its former headquarters, 12 Lexington St., to make way for a new, unnamed company “employing between 70 and 100 employees in multiple shifts,” according to paperwork filed with the city.

The move to Auburn will give VIP about 5,000 square feet of additional office space. Company President John Quirk told MaineBiz that VIP would be in temporary space at 10 Falcon Road in Lewiston until next summer.