Mainebiz

V O L . X X V N O. X I I J U N E 1 0 , 2 0 1 9 12 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E Serving Maine and New England Since 1974. 207-725- 4304 P O U L I N C O N S T R U C T I O N M E . C O M C O N V E N I E N C E S T O R E S R E S TA U R A N T C O M M E R C I A L / P U B L I C R E TA I L K E N T U C K Y F R I E D C H I C K E N S P R I N G F I E L D , M A With a Portland neighborhood heating up, Goodwill sells commercial space there B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r P O R T L A N D — Goodwill Industries of Northern New England has sold its 30,000-square-foot condomin- ium space on the third floor of 75 Washington Ave. in Portland. The space had been occupied by part of the nonprofit's administrative staff and also by one of its neuro rehabilitation clinics. The sale allows Goodwill to con- solidate its administrative staff at its Gorham headquarters and to custom- design leased space in Scarborough for its neuro rehab program. Goodwill sold the third-floor condo- minium space to Dayton 59 LLC for $4.6 million. The deal closed April 12. Andrew Ingalls of Malone Commercial Brokers represented the seller and Drew Sigfridson of The Boulos Co. represented the buyer. Former Nissen bakery The building is the former bakery for John J. Nissen Baking Co. Operations ended there in 1999 when the company was acquired by Interstate Bakeries Inc. The property was subsequently sold and renovated for studios, offices and stores. Today, the building's lower floors are occupied by professional offices for compa- nies like Wright-Pierce Engineering, Rock Coast Personnel and Mitchell Institute. The sale price was lower than the original listing price of $5.495 million. "Potential buyers were unfamiliar with the condominium competent, which would have put them in as minority owners," Ingalls said. "There's no question that aspect had an impact on value." Goodwill has occupied the 75 Washington Ave. space since 2014. Half of the space has been occupied by as many as 30 administrative employees, and half by Goodwill NeuroRehab Services, established in 1991 for individuals with acquired brain injury. A culture shift in the organization allowed many of the administrative employ- ees to be embedded in its programs; most recently there were 10 administrative employees at the site, making the move to the Gorham headquarters easy, said Heather Steeves, Goodwill's external communications manager. Washington Avenue transformation "We bought the space at 75 Washington Ave. at a great time," said Steeves. In the past five years, the once-rundown neighborhood has seen the introduc- tion of restaurants like Drifter's Wife, a James Beard Award semi-finalist, and spirits makers like Maine Craft Distillers, as well as a specialty cheese shop and other restaurants. "Little did we know Washington Avenue would boom," Steeves said. "It made that space really valuable. So it didn't make sense to continue operations there, especially when we could custom-build our neuro rehab space to our exact needs and be on the bus line and be in a safer place with more parking. So we're able to move that money into our programs in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont." In February, Goodwill moved its 10 administrative staffers to its headquarters at 34 Hutcherson Drive in the Gorham Industrial Park. Work is now underway to renovate leased space at 8 Science Park Road in Scarborough for the neuro rehab program. Investment to renovate the new neuro rehab space is being borne by the building's owner, Steeves said. The site is the former home of the Foundation for Blood Research, which closed in 2016. B R I E F Goodwill Industries of Northern New England has sold its 30,000-square-foot condominium space, at 75 Washington Ave. in Portland. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F M A L O N E C O M M E R C I A L B RO K E R S

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