Biz Bites: Big love for little building; sizzling Portland residential market, more
Photo / Maureen Milliken
The "Cony Pride" building at 111 Cony St. in Augusta, a former fire station that was once home to the Cony High School Boosters, has gotten some developer interest after the City Council voted last month to tear it down.
The building at 111 Cony St. in Augusta has long been vacant, and it shows. The windows are boarded up, and a chain-link fence surrounds a yard that has more weeds than space. The city’s Historic Preservation Commission said there's no reason to save the 155-year-old former fire station, and an attempt by the city two years ago to find a buyer fell flat.
So, last month, the City Council gave the thumbs up to tear it down. That news, though, spurred three potential developers to contact the city.
The two-story brick building is 25 feet wide and 100 feet long on a lot that’s not much bigger and, by all accounts, it's in really bad shape. “I’m not convinced anybody, once they go through it, is going to be interested in following through,” City Manager William Bridgeo said, according to the Kennebec Journal. “The building is really in very, very rough shape and it’s going to cost a lot of money to do anything with it.”
The city isn't saying who the potential developers are. They have a month to look it over and decide. Anyone who buys it has to agree to not let it languish further.
Why the interest? It likely comes from the building's recent use, as home of the Cony High School Boosters when the high school was across the street. The “Cony Pride” sign, though chipped and faded, still stretches across the front. The high school is long gone, moving up the street in 2007. The 1926 flatiron "old building" is now historically restored senior housing and the 1960s-era "new building" was torn down in 2008, replaced by a Hannaford — the first LEED Platinum grocery store "in the world," according to Hannaford and designer WBRC architects.
No slowing down for Portland residential market
Portland's residential real estate market had a 73% increase in sales volume overall compared to last February, and 46% in single-family homes, with a median sales price increase of 33.2% according to Benchmark Real Estate in its monthly analysis of the Portland market. The upward trend follows the state's 12.9% increase in price and 22.77% increase in volume over last year, only on steroids.
There was a small increase in the overall number of February listings, 4.3%, but February single-family listings decreased 23.3% from last year. Benchmark Real Estate owner Tom Landry said more homes have been listed March, but he expects buyer demand to continue to outpace supply for some time. “We’ve simply run out of superlatives to describe this market," he said.
The highest single-family sale in the city was 102 Park St., at $1,575,000 and the lowest was 16 Belden St., at $167,000. The highest multifamily sale was 232-236 High St., at $1,900,000, and the lowest was 28 Lincoln St., at $350,000. Listings for multifamily homes decreased
Landry’s firm runs the monthly numbers on Portland’s residential real estate, pulled from Maine’s Multiple Listing Service.
In other recent real estate news ...
The University of Maine at Augusta and the Maine Department of Corrections cut the ribbon recently at the new Doris Buffett Higher Education Center at the Maine State Prison, in Warren. The $500,000 renovation includes dedicated physical space for educational programming and improved technology It was funded by the Sunshine Lady Foundation, designed by SMRT Architects and Engineers, of Portland, and carried out by Penobscot Construction, of Rockport. Buffett, who died last year, had collaborated with UMA to provide educational opportunities at the prison since 2006 and the Rockport resident "was the moving force behind the initiation of the degree program,” according to UMA. Since then, 130 degrees have been awarded, funded by the foundation until 2016, when Pell funding became available. Taking part in the ribbon-cutting were 2016 graduate Charlie Jones, who earned a bachelor's degree from UMA, and Daniel Porter, who is slated to earn one this year.
Maine Preservation has opened nominations for Maine’s Most Endangered Historic Places 2021. To be eligible, a nominated property must:
- Be located in Maine
- Historically or architecturally significant
- At least 50 years old
- Substantially threatened — without intervention the continued existence of the place is at risk
- Savable; there is potential to eliminate the threat and to rehabilitate/re-use the property
- Supported by a local group advocating for the future of the place that can partner with Maine Preservation.
The list has been released every fall, except for last year, since 1996 by the Yarmouth-based nonprofit as a way to boost local efforts and focus attention on preserving a broad range of threatened places throughout the state. There have been 60 success stories over the years. “Nomination of an endangered place is a chance for Mainers to shine a light on the places that matter to their communities; helping to save these places becomes an objective of our work,” the release announcing the nominations said. There is an online nomination form and the deadline is June 1.
Loon Echo Land Trust, which last month announced conservation of 25 acres along the Tenny River in Raymond, this month announced it's acquired 22 acres in Sebago. The land is part of the 1,451-acre Tiger Hill Community Forest, which was conserved by the Bridgton-based nonprofit in 2019. The forest is home to sensitive wildlife habitat and working forest, and safeguards the water quality of Sebago Lake — the drinking water supply for 16% of Maine’s residents. Part of the acquisition will be used this summer to create a formal access point to the community forest, including a parking area with a kiosk and trail maps. A hand-carry boat launch on the newly conserved property will be formalized to provide better access for kayakers and canoeists to the Northwest River.
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