Courtesy / Porta & Co.
The 18,248-square-foot Class A medical office building is in great shape. Some renovation is needed to create classrooms, offices and treatment rooms.
Updated: November 27, 2023
A Brunswick special-purpose private school aims to meet growing need
Courtesy / Porta & Co.
John F. Murphy Homes Inc., an Auburn nonprofit that serves children and adults with development disabilities and autism spectrum disorder, entered the Brunswick market to add an eighth special purpose private school at 74 Baribeau Drive.
A nonprofit that serves children and adults with development disabilities and autism spectrum disorder entered the Brunswick market to add an eighth special purpose private school.
John F. Murphy Homes Inc. bought 74 Baribeau Drive from Bowdoin Medical Group Associates LLP for $1.8 million.
Tim Millett of Porta & Co. brokered the deal.
“It’s a prominent building and JFM is bringing a great service to the community,” said Millett, who represented both seller and buyer in the transaction.
The 18,248-square-foot Class A medical office building is on 4.65 acres and was built in 1995.
The single-story building was marketed as having a beautiful lobby and waiting area, open workstations, perimeter private offices and exam rooms, full Americans With Disabilities Act accessibility and ample parking in the front and rear.
The property was developed for the seller, Bowdoin Medical Group Associates LLP, a group of health care practitioners, said Millett.
More recently, the building was occupied by Martin’s Point Health Care through April 30, 2022.
The property was marketed for lease or sale for about two years and this year drew the attention of the buyer.
John F. Murphy Homes Inc., headquartered at 800 Center St. in Auburn, was founded in 1977 and opened its first residential home in 1978 at 23 Pleasant St. in Lewiston.
The existence of the first Murphy home fostered a general public discussion of the need for group care facilities in Lewiston and Auburn. In 1980, the organization opened a second home. Additional homes have been added and continue to be added today.
Today it employs about 875 people across a number of locations, said Todd Goodwin, the organization’s CEO.
On the adult side, the organization offers 54 residential facilities, including family-style shared homes, mini-apartments with a common area, and single apartments or homes with a roommate.
It also offers shared living oversight services that allow adults with intellectual disabilities or autism to live in a home with a shared living provider; and a variety of community-based day and work support programs focused on increasing confidence and competence in personal, social, problem-solving and employment-related skills.
It also offers professional training services across its adult and children’s divisions.
Its Children’s Services Division operates the Margaret Murphy Centers for Children with licensed special education placement and day treatment facilities that provide pre-school, elementary and secondary services.
Margaret Murphy Centers for Children operates seven special purpose private schools in Lewiston, Auburn, Randolph and Saco. A childcare facility that cares for employees’ children operates in Auburn.
This past fall, the organization opened a public collaborative, supporting three classrooms in the MSAD 52 school system.
Margaret Murphy Centers for Children has become the largest special purpose private school program in Maine and employs the largest number of behavioral health professionals and board-certified behavior analysts in the state.
The adult division serves 290 people.
As of September, the children’s division serves 238 students.
The purchase of the Brunswick property is a response to ongoing need, said Goodwin.
Courtesy / John F. Murphy Homes Inc.
Todd Goodwin.
Some families, he noted, have enrolled their children at Margaret Murphy Centers for Children elsewhere — an indication that there was a need in Brunswick and surrounding towns.
“We had been eyeing an opportunity in Brunswick because of that,” he said. “We also have a tremendous wait list for services for kids in that area.”
The organization looked at buildings over the last few years in Brunswick. The top requirement was finding a building that had a big enough footprint to accommodate what the school does to accommodate students who have significant behavioral, clinical and medical needs.
“Our special purpose private schools are very staff-intensive,” Goodwin said.
For every student, there’s one ed tech who is their primary educational and treatment support person.
“We start there and we build around that all of the support services for the kids — the different therapies and behavioral supports and teachers,” he said. “So the building has to be designed in a way that we can construct our infrastructure that supports not only the staffing resources, but the variety of equipment that many students need.”
Another priority was to be in a low-traffic area that also provided outdoor space for playgrounds and other movement opportunities.
“It’s a relatively open palette, but there are certain criteria that we’re concerned with,” he said.
The property at 74 Baribeau Drive met those criteria, but needs some renovations.
“The building itself is quite nice,” he said. “The way it’s laid out as a family practice facility actually is helpful to us.”
Once design, engineering and permitting are complete, renovations will include taking down some walls, erecting others and opening up some existing rooms to create classrooms, offices and treatment rooms. The facility will be repainted and the vestibule will be redesigned to be more responsive and functional for the school’s purposes.
“We are hoping, at some point in time, to add a small gymnasium space to the building,” he said.
The school will initially serve pre-kindergarten through grade eight students. The building can easily accommodate 50 children.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll hit that number in no time,” Goodwin said.
Renovations are budgeted at about $1 million.
The purchase, renovations and fit-up are being financed through cash flow.
It will probably take a year or more before the new school will open.
“We were very pleased to came across the facility,” said Goodwin. “We’re looking forward to getting this moving.”
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