North Yarmouth Academy buys nearby building to expand boarding program

An aerial view of long low white buildings and roads.

Photo / Courtesy CORE The 17,600-square-foot commercial building at 350 U.S. Route 1 in Yarmouth went for $5.25 million.

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By Laurie Schreiber

North Yarmouth Academy said it would expand student housing into a 17,600-square-foot commercial building it recently acquired for $5.25 million.

The private school bought 350 U.S. Route 1 in Yarmouth from 103 LLC.

Charles W. Day at Porta & Co. represented the buyer and Josh Soley of CORE represented the seller. The deal, which closed May 20, was the result of an off-market listing.

North Yarmouth Academy plans to redevelop the property, which is less than a mile from its 148 Main St. campus, to expand student and faculty housing.

The initiative is expected to allow the academy to attract students from around the country and the world and to develop new programs.

The building will include space for four members of the faculty and staff, approximately 45 students and a dining and recreational commons, the academy said.

The goal is to have the building ready for about 20 students, plus faculty and staff, for this coming fall.

“This property presented an exciting opportunity for the buyer to realize their goal of bringing more students into Yarmouth’s vibrant downtown community,” said Soley.

The property presented an opportunity for NYA to acquire the building and be able to convert it to a dormitory, given the high costs for new construction, noted Day.

NYA bought the entire complex, including all the retail spaces.

"As the leases on the first-floor retail space expire, then NYA will take that space back for themselves and convert it into amenities for the dormitory," Day said.

Ideal setup

North Yarmouth Academy has enrolled international and domestic students in its “homestay” program for the past 25 years, averaging 15 to 20 students per year.

In recent years, NYA has hosted students from Austria, Ukraine, China, Canada, Germany, Korea, Spain, India and throughout the U.S. The students live with families in local homes and host families are offered a stipend.

But growth of the homestay program has been limited due to the number of homestay families available and the preference for on-campus housing, the academy said.

“For several years, NYA has explored various options for student and faculty housing. However, the ideal space never presented itself until now,” said Ben Jackson, head of school. “Given its size, setup, proximity to campus and Yarmouth village, this facility has everything we need to deliver a dynamic student experience.”

Expanded reach

With the acquired property, NYA said it would be able to create a boarding program that would provide opportunities for faculty to live near the campus in today’s demanding housing market and would expand the geographic reach of admissions and support the growth of the international population.

“We will continue to offer the homestay option to our students,” Jackson said.

North Yarmouth Academy was founded in 1814 as a coeducational day school. In 1961, the school began a transition to a boarding school and operated as such until 1976. At that time, the school converted back to a coeducational day school.

“I am excited to be able to offer boarding once again at NYA, and I am eager to welcome domestic and international boarding students to our campus,” Jackson said.

North Yarmouth Academy is an independent, college-preparatory, coeducational school for toddlers to postgraduate students with an enrollment of over 400.

The property was developed for mixed residential and commercial use by Nate Green and Chris Marshall, principals of GreenMars Real Estate. They started working on the project, which they called Yarmouth Commons, in April 2020.

GreenMars’s more recent projects include Deering Village, a residential complex in Portland’s North Deering neighborhood; and Wilbur’s Woods, a housing complex in Brunswick.