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V O L . X X V N O. X V I I I A U G U S T 1 9 , 2 0 1 9 20 G R E AT E R B A N G O R / N O R T H E R N M A I N E F O C U S Orono Brewing Co. But like Perkins, they had the same idea about Bangor as a city on an upward trajectory. ey've also bought 26 State St. and, most recently, 29 Franklin St. All are mixed commercial and residential buildings. ey opened a second Orono Brewing tasting room at 26 State St. e 29 Franklin St. reno- vation is underway. Great bones "We see a lot of opportunity in Bangor," says Heather Furth. "ere are a lot of buildings with great bones that haven't been developed that are still at reasonable prices relative to markets like Portland, Boston or Portsmouth." Plus, the couple likes to invest new life into forgotten buildings, says Abe Furth. "We love the downtown and want to see people live there," he says. "To be able to attract a company like Portland Pie and see other entrepreneurs come into nice, newly renovated commercial spaces is key to the success of the downtown." Louie Morrison also likes older buildings. With a partner, he's bought, developed or managed 11 Bangor properties, nine of them downtown. e partners expect to close soon on 35 Main St., which has commercial and residential space. "I just think they're cool," Morrison says of older buildings. "You're not going to find anything brand-new downtown. ese things are solid as a rock. You can always create something special and keep the old features, too. Most of them are underused. I try to bring up every square foot to be useable rental space." Morrison sees huge demand for space. "I've got probably 80 apartments," he says. "Whether it's a $750 or a $2,500 apartment, the second it opens up I've got a list of people who want to move downtown." e downtown rental market, devel- opers say, includes college students, retirees and professionals. "A lot of people like to be down- town because it's walkable and they feel like they're part of a community," says Heather Furth. Adds Abe Furth, "ere's been a lot of attention on making downtown into a place where people want to visit and want to live." Public infrastructure e city welcomes these developments, says Emery. And it's doing its part to improve infrastructure. Recent projects include improvements to Merchants Plaza, a popular public space that bridges from West Market Square to Pickering Square; and alterations » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Built in 1972 and home to the Bangor Daily News and UBS, One Merchants Plaza has experienced significant vacancy in recent years. Charles Day, listing broker of Porta & Co., reports that the building is currently under contract with a developer. Bev Uhlenhake, Epstein Commercial Real Estate, represents the buyer who will be making significant upgrades to the building, including bringing a large new anchor tenant to the top two floors. In 2017, the early-1900s building at 28 Broad St. sold to a New Hampshire buyer for $3.125 million. The luxury apartment building, called "28 Broad Street Lofts," is back on the market for $3.799 million. In 2018, J.B. Brown & Sons of Portland invested in Bangor for the first time with the purchase of 80 Exchange St., a six-story Class A office building built in 1973 and one of the most visible office structures in Bangor. P H O T O / L A U R I E S C H R E I B E R P H O T O / L A U R I E S C H R E I B E R P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F C O L L I E R ' S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A LT Y Since 2011, ADN Internet & Telephone has helped medium and large businesses from Maine to Florida save on their Internet and telecommunications. For companies with a monthly telephone bill of $450 and more, on average, we have helped them save up to 80% on their telephone and Internet costs. Spend less on telecom and get more… adninternettelephone.com | 800.599.0661 | Support@ADNME.com really? To learn how we can lower your costs, add more features, and improve communications contact us today!

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