Courtesy / Port Property
Seen here is a mock-up of the West Bayside portfolio acquired by Port Property.
October 17, 2022
Port Property acquires West Bayside portfolio for $25M
Courtesy / LoopNet
Portland developer Port Property purchased 62 Elm St. and seven other properties as part of a $25 million portfolio in Portland's West Bayside.
Just days after Port Property held a topping off ceremony for its $72 million mixed-use development of 52 Hanover St. in Portland’s West Bayside, the company announced it had acquired additional properties in the neighborhood.
The $25 million off-market deal, finalized Oct. 13, was brokered by Joe Porta and Charles Day of Porta & Co., representing the buyer and seller, respectively.
The multi-building portfolio comprises approximately 180,000 square feet of retail space that will now join the Portland-based management company’s growing list of properties in West Bayside.
The portfolio includes commercial properties at 62 Elm St., 77 Preble St. and 197 Oxford St., along with 165, 175, 185, 190 and 196 Lancaster St. and approximately 420 surface parking spaces.
Port Property has been active in the neighborhood’s development and revitalization for a number of years.
“Our recent development efforts in the area have focused on creating live-work-play environments designed to strengthen community connections and synergy between residents and the surrounding urban fabric,” said John Laliberte, Port Property’s head of acquisition and development in southern Maine.
Port Property will oversee management of the properties with a dedicated property manager, and has begun working with current tenants to support their occupancy.
Laliberte said several factors interested Port Property in the portfolio.
“For years we’ve been investing in the West Bayside neighborhood, our management office is located here, and we have strong roots in the community," he told Mainebiz. “The ability to add to that in such a substantial way with this acquisition is very exciting. A healthy list of commercial tenants and the potential for long-term investment were also considerations in our decision-making process.”
Port Property financed the acquisition through Gorham Savings Bank, Norway Savings Bank, Coastal Enterprises Inc. and partner equity.
The company is analyzing the potential for future investment throughout the six-acre site. “Nothing has been finalized at this time,” said Laliberte.
The buildings are occupied by a variety of commercial tenants, including Baxter Academy and Maine Behavioral Healthcare.
This transaction expands on Port Property’s portfolio in West Bayside, which includes the recently acquired and adjacent Public Market Garage, a 595-space parking structure at 315 Cumberland Ave.; a recently renovated residential property called the Linden at 132 Marginal Way; the 1927 Schlotterbeck & Foss Co. sauce-and-condiment manufacturing facility at 117-119 Preble St., which is now a modern residential community called 117 Lofts; a commercial property at 82 Hanover St. that's home to Port Property’s headquarters, and a new multi-use development now under construction at 52 Hanover St. slated to include 171 apartments, two levels of parking and 6,500 square feet of retail space.
Porta, who founded Porta & Co. in 2017, said the recent acquisition of 420 surface parking spaces, as well as the Public Market parking garage, adds value to Port Property’s overall portfolio, given the city’s tight squeeze on parking.
The West Bayside neighborhood is bounded by Cumberland and Forest avenues, Franklin Street and Marginal Way.
52 Hanover St.
A topping-off ceremony last week at 52 Hanover St., a mixed-use development marketed as a live-work-play community and scheduled to open for occupancy next summer, featured three items on the final steel beam to mark the occasion: an evergreen branch, a broom and a flag. Rooted in Scandinavian tradition, an evergreen tree is believed to bring good luck to the building and the rest of the construction process. A broom is included when the construction team has had a “clean sweep” for safety, and a U.S. flag honors the country and future.
COURTESY / PORT PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
The development at 52 Hanover St. in Portland will feature 171 apartments, parking and retail space.
The beam featured logos from 52 of Hanover’s project partners, including the construction team at Penobscot General Contractors, Thornton Tomasetti, Acorn Engineering, Cube3, Capone Iron Corp., Warren Mechanical, Sargent Electric Co. and Port Property.
Once completed, 52 Hanover will have 171 apartments, two levels of parking and 6,500 square feet of retail space. The retail spaces will share a courtyard with 82 Hanover, which is home to a variety of local businesses. Activity from both will spill out onto outdoor patios, with the goal of creating an urban destination and community hub for residents of 52 Hanover, neighbors and visitors. Pre-leasing is scheduled to begin next spring.
Port Property, founded in 1993, manages more than 100 residential properties in southern Maine. The company, employing over 50 people in southern Maine and coastal North Carolina, is the management arm of a group that also includes investment, development and construction divisions under the names Bush Watson and Tom Watson & Co.
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