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V O L . X X I I I N O. X X V I O C T O B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 7 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 top ten OUR PEOPLE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE. For the third consecutive year, Landry/French Construction has placed in the top ten of the Best Places to Work in Maine. Thank you to our co-owners who made this honor possible. third consecutive year 2017-2015 Interested in being part of something special? Visit landryfrench.com/careers. 100% Employee Owned Sale of Residence Inn another sign of a hot real estate market B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r PORTLAND — The sale of the Residence Inn by Marriott at 145 Fore St. signaled again that the city's East End is arguably the state's hottest real estate market. Terms of the acquisition, which closed Oct. 13, were not disclosed. It will remain a Residence Inn. The 179-room hotel is situated near the Ocean Gateway and is surrounded by a new headquarters under construction for Tilson Technologies and one planned for WEX Inc. It is on the diagonal corner from an AC Marriott hotel that's under construction. Not far away is the former Portland Co. site, at 158 Fore St., which will be developed as a mixed-use property. Condos and new retail have cropped up along India Street, just a block away. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, a commercial real estate firm, represented the sellers, Norwich Partners, which is headed by David Leatherwood and has its manage- ment office in Lebanon, N.H. The buyer was not dis- closed, but is a real estate investment trust. Norwich Partners is a New England and Florida-based developer of and investor in commercial real estate, primarily hotels in the Northeast and Florida, founded in 2003, according to its website. Leatherwood has been active in the hotel business since 1991. He has developed/co-developed over 4,000 hotel rooms under various major flags including Clarion, Hampton Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, Envoy Hotel by Marriott, Moxy by Marriott, AC by Marriott, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Element by Westin, Aloft Hotels and Homewood Suites by Hilton. Residence Inn, com- pleted in 2009, is a five- story property and, in addi- tion to the guest rooms, fea- tures the Shipyard Lounge, 1,235 square feet of event space, an outdoor courtyard, business center, fitness cen- ter and indoor pool. It recently completed a $2.1 million renovation of guest suites and public space. "We didn't market it widely. We knew who the buyer profile was," said Denny Meikleham, Boston-based managing director at Holliday Fenoglio Fowler. His firm started marketing the property in early summer. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler has handled five hotel sales in the Portland area in the last two years, and all have moved quickly. "There's a lot of interest in hotels in Portland," Meikleham said. "Portland hotel performance contin- ues to be very strong. There are so many options in New England for things to do, but Portland is definitely a Top 10 destination in New England. And Portland is generally considered the business capital of Maine. You've got a great combination of medical demand, tour- ism, transient business demand, group businesss — it has multiple demand generators working in its favor. I think it will continue to be a popular destination." B R I E F P H O T O / H O L L I DAY F E N O G L I O F OW L E R L . P. The Oct. 13 sale of the Residence Inn Portland is another indicator of the strong hotel market in the greater Portland region.

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