Lewiston nonprofit’s move consolidates two other locations as demand grows for services

Courtesy / Porta & Co. That 19,980-square-foot office building at 10 Falcon Road in Lewiston allows Creative Works to consolidate two other locations. An insurance company was a former tenant in the building.

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By Laurie Schreiber

A nonprofit organization that supports individuals with disabilities throughout southern and central Maine is able to consolidate operations and staff with the purchase of 10 Falcon Road in Lewiston.

Creative Works bought the 19,980-square-foot office building, which dates to 1989, from Lewiston Properties LLC for $1.375 million.

The sale was brokered by Justin Lamontagne from the Dunham Group and Tm Millett from Porta & Co.

“Creative Works continues to grow services in the Lewiston-Auburn community, and we are very excited to move to our new location at 10 Falcon Road,” said Matt Hickey, CEO of Creative Works. “We will be consolidating two existing buildings, and moving services and our employees in the area to Falcon Road.”

Creative Works is a nationally accredited nonprofit, founded in 1967 to work with people with intellectual and physical disabilities in southern Maine.

Through independent living support, residential services, brain injury support and innovative social enterprises, the organization works with hundreds of people each year.

In addition to its administrative office in Westbrook, the organization provides residential, employment and case management services at its facilities in South Portland, Saco, Auburn and Augusta.

Creative Works also operates 32 residential homes, six of which are in the Lewiston-Auburn area.

Strong owner-user market

The seller is from Massachusetts and the property was on the market for sale for 280 days, said Millett, who represented the seller.

“The reason for selling was because it was vacant, and we knew there was high owner-user activity in the market,” Millett said. “There was some other interest in the building, but it was for only a portion of the building.”

Courtesy / Porta & Co.

Office staff started moving there in late March.

Said Lamontagne, “It’s a great expansion and opportunity for them.”

Checking the boxes

The Falcon Road building will consolidate services and staff that have been at 430 Lisbon St. and 29 Hampshire St. in Auburn.

The search for a building that could accommodate the consolidation began in earnest in late 2023.

“On the short list was 10 Falcon Road,” said Lamontagne. “It checked so many boxes. It met all their needs, it’s in a good location, the size was right and has a flexible layout for a variety of planned uses. It was really a smooth transaction.”

Lamontagne has represented Creative Works for a number of years, including its 2019 purchase of 430 Lisbon St. in Lewiston and 290 State St. in Augusta to accommodate growing demand for its services.

Millett represented the seller in that deal as well.

The plan is to sell 430 Lisbon St. and 29 Hampshire St., also through Lamontagne. “Market demand in Lewiston and Auburn for these smaller owner/user style buildings is strong,” said Lamontagne. “I’m confident we’ll sell both within a few months.”

One core building

Hickey said demand for the organization’s service programs at 29 Hampshire St. has grown quite a bit. That’s what drove the purchase of 430 Lisbon St. in 2019.

And demand continues to grow. By 2019, the organization was serving over 100 people with disabilities in the Lewiston/Auburn region and a total of over 450 throughout Maine.

Today, it has more than 200 participants in the region and more than 500 in Maine.

“We were looking for one core building that could accommodate all of our programs and all of our support and office staff in one location,” he said.

The Falcon Road listing “popped off the page for me as a tremendous opportunity for Creative Works. I think it will allow us to provide exceptional services to our participants and to continue our growth in the area,” Hickey said.

The building, about 20,000 square feet, has two distinct spaces. About 7,000 square feet is completely renovated and will serve as office space.

Office staff started moving there in late March.

The larger space, designated for participants from Hampshire Street, needs minor renovations such as flooring and paint. The goal is to open that space in June.

The transaction was a cash purchase.

The consolidation provides operational advantages.

“It allows us to be more efficient and allows our staff to be connected with our mission on a daily basis,” said Hickey. “It’s a much more professional space and it’s a really nice building for us.”