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V O L . X X X I I N O. X V I I I A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 6 14 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 With malls and their traditional anchor stores taking a hit nationwide, why not demolish the 48-year-old structure and build something new from scratch? "You would be tearing down a perfectly good building," says Michael Cole, a Bangor-based real estate broker who's leading a local group formed to buy and repurpose the Bangor Mall into a mixed-use hub anchored by retail and services. Other partners in Cole's venture, called Bangor Marketplaces and Residences LLC, include Hampden-based devel- oper David St. Germain of Sky Villa LLC and Nick Mullins, owner of Community Real Estate Solutions. Originally aiming to transform the former Sears into housing for an estimated more than $40 million, the group has put that plan on hold to first build up retail and entertainment. "Right now," Cole says, "our focus is going to be on filling the space we have and recreating and bringing back what the mall was." With plans to finalize their pur- chase from Great Neck, N.Y.-based Namdar Realty Group this September to put the state's only regional mall in local hands, the prospective buyers are giving themselves a relatively short timeline to complete the transforma- tion. ey plan to start with landscap- ing and other cosmetic fixes. "As soon as we own it, we're going to hit the ground running," Cole pre- dicts. "It's all about what it feels like." But the turnaround plan goes well beyond aesthetics, with a goal of achieving 92% occupancy in three years, according to Mullins: "We'll get there," he says. 'Patient capital' While the Bangor Mall's incom- ing owners have disclosed neither the agreed purchase price nor the estimated investment, mall conversions elsewhere have cost hundreds of millions and often take several business cycles to complete, notes Tuck O'Brien, presi- dent and CEO of Portland commercial property management and development firm J.B. Brown & Sons. "You need some pretty patient capi- tal," he says, pointing to projects like Assembly Row outside of Boston or the redevelopment of ompson's Point and Bayside in Portland as examples of proj- ects that have all taken time from initial planning and concept to the first shovels in the ground. Even with success stories like University Place in North Carolina, he says, developers have had to pause between phases. P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R Michael Cole of Bangor Marketplaces and Residences LLC says the group is prioritizing retail and entertainment in its redevelopment plans for the Bangor Mall. B R I N G I N G B R I N G I N G B A C K B A C K B A N G O R B A N G O R T H E T H E M A L L M A L L Local developers aim to reinvigorate retail at aging shopping center B Y R E N E E C O R D E S S tanding guard at the Mainiac Manor haunted attraction inside the Bangor Mall, the Grim Reaper and other decorative spooks far outnumber live human shoppers on a late July weekday morning. e ghost-town ambiance extends to clusters of empty chairs and tables inside the concourse, no more than a handful of people strolling in and out of the few places open for business — including a JCPenney department store, the Dragon's Lair games arcade and a Dick's Sporting Goods — in a 600,000-plus square-foot plaza that's only 30% occupied.

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