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V O L . X X V I I N O. X I I J U N E 1 4 , 2 0 2 1 22 L E W I S T O N / A U B U R N / W E S T E R N M A I N E F O C U S with newly approved tax increment financing — is a $22 million plan to transform the Picker House in the Chinburg-owned Continental Mill into a 72-unit apartment building with one-, two- and three-bedroom rental units. Like Szanton's other residential properties, it will have a mix of market- rate and affordable housing, according to founder and president Nathan Szanton. "Jobs are growing faster than the number of housing units are going, inex- orably pushing up prices for housing," he says. "So more supply is really needed in order to stabilize prices." If all goes according to plan and the company gets the green light for the Picker House Lofts project by October, it would be looking to close on the deal by June 2022 and start construction soon thereafter to be ready to open by summer 2023. Szanton has not worked with Eric Chinburg, but he says he's admired the New Hampshire developer's work, including Saco Mill No. 4, which was at one time an eyesore that Chinburg "turned into beautiful market-rate housing." Szanton shares the same passion for transforming old mill buildings he likens to blank canvases with huge open spaces, and that are structurally sound. "We've done a number of mill adap- tive uses, and I just love those buildings — they're noble buildings," Szanton says. "ey were built to last, and as if the entrepreneurs who built those mills expected them to be going for 200 or 300 years producing textiles." at's reflected in thick, heavy walls, massive timber constructions and huge windows built to let in natu- ral light in before there was electricity, and which Szanton says is well-suited to residential living. "You have to put good window treat- ments on, otherwise in the summer you'd wake up at 4:30 in the morning," he says. "But as long as you do that, they make a beautiful space." Irreplaceable buildings For Fathom's Brady, the opportunity to invest in Lewiston popped up late last year, when the previous owner of the Dominican Block building — a Queen Anne-style religious build- ing built in 1882 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 — decided to sell. Brady acted fast, on a call for offers in early December that closed two weeks later with no contingencies. Looking forward to the next steps, Brady says the project exceeds $4.5 million, or about a tenth of what he's paying to build Portland's Canopy By Hilton hotel. He envisions around 15 apartments in the revamped Dominican Block, though that's still being finalized with the architect, Caleb Johnson Studio, as the project goes through permitting. (e builder will be Hebert Construction LLC.) Amid skyrocketing prices for new construction, Brady is open to doing more redevelopment projects in Lewiston funded by historic tax cred- its, saying, "We like doing projects in buildings that can't be replaced." R e n e e C o r d e s , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t r c o r d e s @ m a i n e b i z . b i z a n d @ r s c o r d e s » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E MEREDA Recognizes the Top 6 Notable Project Recipients for 2020 Projects from Portland to Pittsfield to Bangor received special recognition at MEREDA's 2021 Virtual Spring Conference on May 20th. The exemplary projects, completed in 2020, not only embody MEREDA's belief in responsible real estate development, but also exemplify best practices in the industry, contributing to Maine's economic growth by significant investment of resources and job creation statewide. Each of the six projects was selected in part based upon criteria including: noteworthy and significant project completed* in 2020, environmental sustainability, economic impact, energy efficiency, social impact, uniqueness, difficulty of development and job creation. Rock Row Phase 1 Retail Center Westbrook Waterstone Properties Group Solterra Portland Portland Housing Authority 82 Hanover Street Portland Port Property Management One Merchants Plaza Bangor Sky Villa Properties Hospice of Southern Maine Scarborough Zachau Construction / SMRT Puritan Medical COVID – Building Expansion (P2) Pittsfield Puritan Medical Products *Building Occupancy Permit issued by 12/31/20 Thank you to our sponsors for making this event possible! P H O T O / J O H N P H E L A N , W I K I P E D I A P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F J I M B R A DY Dominican Block building, which dates to 1883, will be redeveloped as housing by Jim Brady of Fathom Cos.

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