A 'topping off' at Maine's tallest building tops recent real estate news

Photo / Tim Greenway When completed, 201 Federal St. in Portland will have 263 apartments, including 27 designated as workforce housing. The first floor will have retail space.

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By Peter Van Allen

This week's Real Estate Insider looks at a range of recent milestones, dedications and transactions.

201 Federal St. stands tall

What will be Maine’s tallest building had an official “topping off” ceremony Oct. 27.

The building, at 201 Federal St. in Portland, is being built by Landry/French Construction. Tim Sommers of L/F is the senior project manager. The developer is Redfern Properties, led by Jonathan Culley.

Once completed, the building will be 18 stories, or 190 feet.

When completed in fall 2023, it will have 263 apartments, including 27 designated as workforce housing. The first floor will have retail space.

Construction is estimated to cost $64 million and create 250 construction jobs.

Boat club goes inland to find winter storage space

Freedom Boat Club of Maine has been bursting at the seams almost since being launched in 2017.

The club is subscription-based, and the franchise claims 360 members.

The franchise has waterside locations in Linekin Bay Resort in Boothbay, Yarmouth Boat Yard, Moose Landing Marina in Naples, Point Sebago Resort in Casco, Fore Points Marina in Portland and Sunset Marina in South Portland.

While it's nice to have the waterside facilities, when it comes to wintertime storage, an inland spot looks just fine — as evidenced by a recent deal.

Courtesy / Boulos Co.

Freedom Boat Club bought an 11-acre parcel in Freeport for winter storage and other work.

According to the Boulos Co., Freedom Boat Club bought a 10.86-acre parcel with storage and office buildings at 33 Allen Range Road in Freeport. Though inland for boating purposes, the site is roughly an hour's drive or less from most of the Freedom Boat Club of Maine sites.

The transaction was arranged on behalf of the buyer by Jessica Estes of the Boulos Co. and on behalf of the seller by Brent Sawyer of Portside Real Estate Group.

The parcel, which was acquired from Catheryn Ingerson, includes a storage building with three large bays, but should provide ample space for growth.

“The rapid growth of the company has led to the need for a dedicated operations facility for boat storage and rigging,” Boulos said.

See a Q&A with Freedom Boat Club of Maine operator Steve Arnold.

Old Port hotel is dedicated

The brand new Cambria Hotel Portland Downtown-Old Port has been open for a few weeks now, but the official ribbon cutting was held Nov. 2.

Photo / Renee Cordes

The new Cambria Hotel Portland Downtown-Old Port is located at 25 Hancock St.

The hotel, which has 102 guest rooms, also includes 1,400 square feet of meeting space, a private dining room and the Alto Terrace Bar + Kitchen.

The Cambria was developed by Bateman Partners LLC with co-investor XSS Hotels, and is managed by Colwen Hotels.

Construction of the property, at 25 Hancock St., was managed by AlliedCook Construction.

Engineering firm has new space in Portland

Base Design Group, a structural engineering firm, acquired a 10,030-square-foot, two-story building at 117 Auburn St. in Portland.

Courtesy / The Boulos Co.

Cameron Foster, associate broker at the Boulos Co., with Nate Bacon, founder and president of Base Design Group.

The engineering firm will use the second floor, roughly 5,000 square feet. Base Design, which has 10 employees, expects to be in the space in January, Nate Bacon, founder and president, told Mainebiz.

It will have a built-in tenant with St. Mary’s Orthopedics, which is on the first floor.

“As Base Design Group continues to grow, finding a location that we can craft to fit our goal of providing a first class environment for our employees has become immensely important,” said Bacon. The property at “117 Auburn St. provides a unique opportunity to meet these initiatives and have full control of our office space for many years to come.”

The moving van won’t have far to go: Base Design Group has been based in leased space at 94 Auburn St., some 400 feet from the new site.

Base Design acquired the property under a limited liability corporation, Fall Brook LLC. The buyer was represented by Drew Sigfridson and Cameron Foster of the Boulos Co. The seller, Pomeroy Realty LLC, was represented by Anthony Struzziero of Porta & Co.