After four years of remote work, marketing firm returns to office space in Yarmouth

A old brick mill sits next to a road and bridge.

Photo / Courtesy The Dunham Group A Portland publishing, recruiting and marketing firm moved quickly to sub-lease an office suite in the 19th century Sparhawk Mill in Yarmouth.

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By Laurie Schreiber

A Portland publishing, recruiting and marketing firm, that went to remote operations in 2020, returned to a brick-and-mortar location with a sub-lease in Yarmouth.

Trueline subleased 2,450 square feet of office space, Suite 301, on the second floor at 81 Bridge St. The sublet was from Campfire Consulting.

The transaction was arranged on behalf of the sub-tenant by Cameron Foster of the Boulos Co. and on behalf of the sub-landlord by Sam LeGeyt of the Dunham Group.

The space is in the 20,000-square-foot, four-story Sparhawk Mill, built in 1857.

Photo / Courtesy The Dunham Group

The turnkey space was pretty much move-in-ready and will accommodate more hiring.

In its marketing for the suite, the Dunham Group highlighted it as a large, open space with a private office, a conference room, kitchen and private bathroom; within walking distance to nearby amenities and access to Route 1 and I-295.

Campfire previously occupied the space but its business model changed due to the pandemic, and the company wasn’t using the space as much as it had previously, said LeGeyt.

From D.C. to Maine

“The search was pretty short and sweet,” said Foster. “They wanted to be in the Yarmouth area and kind of dialed in what they needed. This space was ready to go.”

Trueline was founded in 2007 by Haj Carr in Washington, D.C. It began as a publishing company, creating trade publications across several industries, and evolved to include marketing and recruiting services.

The inside of an office has tables and a wood floor.

Photo / Courtesy The Dunham Group

The set-up was exactly what Trueline needed to bring back remote workers.

In 2011, Trueline moved with 23 employees from D.C. to 482 Congress St. in Portland.

Carr and his business partner in the venture, Patrick Rose, were originally from Maine.

“I loved my time in D.C but it became more and more clear to us that the types of individuals we wanted to hire were in Maine,” said Rose. “And we just missed being near the ocean and what Portland was, at that time, growing into.”

Rose characterized Maine talent as being endowed with a positive work ethic and a high level of accountability, while also having down-to-earth vibes.

Continued growth

By 2019, the company had outgrown 482 Congress St., and moved to renovated offices in downtown Portland’s SALT Institute building at 522 Congress St.

“Then COVID hit,” Rose said. “We went home, like everybody else.”

The company continued to see revenue growth and expansion into new markets, said Rose.

“Once we knew it was going to be a long-term remote work environment, we said, Let’s start hiring from across the country,” he recounted. “We saw pretty significant growth by way of hiring, clientele and revenue.”

Photo / Courtesy The Dunham Group

The 81 Bridge St. sub-lease, in an old mill building, reflects Trueline's growth.

Trueline hired remote employees from California, Texas, Florida and elsewhere across the country.

Today the company has about 40 employees and works with executives across North America and Latin America. The company flies remote employees to Maine on a regular basis, giving the team a chance to work with each other directly and also to engage in things like team-building events and holiday parties.

Eventually, Rose and Trueline’s director of professional development, Nick Randall, began looking at bringing staffers back together in a brick-and-mortar location.

“We wanted to continue to grow but we wanted to do that with an in-house presence and cultivate the culture in a brick-and-mortar building,” Rose said.

The team looked at about a dozen or spaces in Greater Portland.

“A lot of spaces would have required a big build-out or weren’t exactly what we were looking for,” he said.

The 81 Bridge St. sub-lease, in an old mill building, had a nice “Maine” feel, he said. The turnkey space was pretty much move-in-ready and will accommodate more hiring.

“It’s a great representation of who we are,” he said. “It is well set up for exactly what we need. It’s very bright. It’s right on the river. It feels good to be in here.”