Hannaford sells former Gorham horse track to Moody's Collision for $1.2M

Courtesy / NAI The Dunham Group An aerial view of the former horse track parcel on Narragansett Street and Route 112 in Gorham.

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By Laurie Schreiber

GORHAM — A 61.6-acre former horse track on the outskirts of the town has been sold by Hannaford Brothers Co. for $1.2 million.

Hannaford, which bought the parcel a decade ago, determined it no longer needed the site, which was sold on Aug. 30 to Moody’s Co-Worker Owned Inc., owner of the collision centers.

Located on Narragansett Street (Route 202) and Route 112, the property is locally known as The Fairgrounds site. It was on the market for three years, attracting lookers but not buyers until now. But that length of time is typical for a development site, said Charlie Craig from NAI The Dunham Group, which represented Hannaford.

Moody’s said it is not ready to announce what it plans to do with the parcel. It already has a Moody’s Collision and Auto Body Repair Center at 200 Narragansett St., nearly across the street.

Craig said the site, consisting of generous green space and great access to two of the largest arteries in Gorham, offers an excellent opportunity to create a large-scale commercial development. The property is divided into two parcels by the bypass. The larger parcel, on the west side of the bypass, totals 49.1 acres, and the smaller one totals 12.5 acres.

The parcel was formerly used by The Fairgrounds, a horse track.

Hannaford has a supermarket in downtown Gorham. Originally, it sought to expand on the downtown supermarket, but ran into challenges assembling contiguous property.

“So they ended up exploring other options, and bought the former racetrack,” said Craig. “Then they brought in water and sewer lines to serve it.”

As luck would have it, Hannaford’s original plan came to fruition when additional land became available adjacent to its downtown store, which is at 99 Main St.

“So they ended up with this [Fairgrounds] site but they didn’t have a use for it,” Craig said.

The location is excellent, Craig said. It’s on a roundabout on Route 202, which leads north or south in parallel with Interstate 95, while also being close to Westbrook and is about half an hour from Portland.

“That’s one reason why it’s become a more interesting location, because of the access,” he said.

The purchase price was below the asking price of $1.6 million, but is on par for the area, said Craig.

“There’s not a science to it, when it comes to land sales of development parcels like this,” he said. “The price has to work in terms of fitting into construction budgets. I think it’s a fair price.”

As a near-neighbor of Portland, Gorham has a good commercial base boosted by industrial and business parks and a business-friendly development climate, said Craig.

This parcel is not near the business or industrial parks, which are on the other side of town closer to Westbrook, nor in the heart of Gorham’s downtown business district.

But, he said, it’s likely that improved roadway access will allow this section of town to develop over time, and spinoff of residential and commercial development from Portland will doubtless boost the overall area.

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