Portland's Diamond Street attracts new tenants in competitive market
Coutesy / The Dunham Group
In Portland's East Bayside neighborhood, 31 Diamond St. will open early in 2023 with retailers Toad & Co., Bayside Bark and Bite Into Maine.
An industrial space at 31 Diamond St. in Portland has become a microcosm of the East Bayside neighborhood as it prepares to host a mix of food, alcohol and retail establishments.
The building is a repurposed industrial building that had previously been occupied by Door Services Inc. for many years, said Thomas Moulton, a broker and partner with the Dunham Group, who is representing the landlord, 31 Diamond Street LLC.
“All neighborhoods in Portland are attractive, but East Bay is really desirable from a tenant and consumer perspective. It’s right off the highway, there’s free parking, there’s a diversity of businesses. It’s a walkable, bikeable, creative neighborhood — there’s breweries, a bike store, karate, yoga, fitness, beauty supply, coffee — you name it. It has an artsy, creative vibe,” Moulton said.
The building’s immediate neighbors include Coffee By Design’s headquarters and retail store, Rockingham Electrical Supply and Three of Strong, a craft rum spirits company. Other businesses nearby include Play It Again Sports, Fleet Feet, Rising Tide Brewing and Portland Mattress Makers.
The 31 Diamond St. building has been looking for tenants for about eight months. They must meet the requirement of manufacturing or creating something to meet the I-L zoning requirements. The I-L zones are considered low-impact industrial.
“It’s been competitive to get into the building. The market demand is steady and strong,” Moulton said.
The building has secured clothing retailer Toad & Co., pet-supply and services company Bayside Bark and gourmet lobster roll maker Bite Into Maine. The landlord also is in final negotiations with a distillery and a brewery to find the right fit for the remaining 3,000-square-foot space, Moulton said.
The building will be ready for opening in the first quarter of 2023, Moulton said.
To meet the manufacturing requirement of the location, Toad & Co., for example, will use warehouse space to launch a new service for gently worn Toad & Co. clothing. Through customer returns, repairs, and reselling, the new program, called ToadAgain, will keep clothing out of landfills. Toad & Co., which signed a lease for 7,826 square feet, said ToadAgain will be launched in Portland and online in the fall. The site also will have a Toad & Co. retail store, an expansion in addition to its Freeport location.
Bayside Bark, which signed a lease for 4,548 square feet, will offer dog grooming service, dog training and other amenities, Moulton said.
Bite Into Maine, which leased 3,416 square feet, said it will use the site as a kitchen for its food trucks and for its distribution for online food website Goldbelly, as well as takeout.
“We are excited for the opportunity to be in East Bayside for a few reasons. We were looking for an ‘all-in-one’ space for our business…a large prep kitchen space, a shipping space for Goldbelly, storage space, a place to park a food cart, and a takeout or a small cafe component,” said Sarah Sutton, co-owner of Bite Into Maine.
“This building in particular gave us an opportunity to envision all of that, all within a neighborhood that will still have foot traffic, and an incredible mix of other local businesses, and easy in and out access, which is important with a food truck," said Sutton. "It is also an excellent in between to our current two food truck locations — Fort Williams and Allagash Brewing Co."
In the lease transaction, the three tenants were represented by the Boulos Co. Toad & Co was represented by Nate Stevens, Bayside Bark was represented by John Finegan and Tony McDonald, while Bite Into Maine was represented by Jon Rizzo.
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