🔒Building Business: Innovative condo project slated for Freeport

The Domus development team plans to break ground this spring on a mixed-income condominium complex in downtown Freeport, which is designed to be a near-copy of what the company is currently building in Westbrook. The concept behind the projects is that the design can be replicated in multiple locations, reducing project timelines and costs. The four-story 45-unit Depot Terraces will be built on a three-quarter acre lot on Depot Street in Freeport, adjacent to the Amtrak Downeaster train depot. The Domus development group includes Jack Soley and principals from Lewiston-based Hebert Construction and nonprofit Avesta Housing, headquartered in Portland. Kaplan Thompson Architects, of Portland, is the designer. “We got all the contractors and vendors together in the same room and brainstormed the project together to integrate design solutions that would increase efficiencies and speed construction,” Soley says. All of the units will have high ceilings, wood and tile flooring, large windows, high-end finishes and in-unit laundry facilities. They are energy-efficient, built to Passive House standards. The majority of the units are relatively compact at 500 square feet, though the 11 market-rate units feature 18-foot high ceilings which allow for an additional loft room. Higher prices on the market-rate homes, “in the mid-$400,000s,” Soley said, will help offset costs of the units starting closer to $300,000. The equation means the project can be built without subsidies, which will help get the build underway faster. The Domus team expects costs will decrease for future versions of the concept. The team is already eyeing future locations.

Construction News From Around The State

Wright-Ryan Construction, based in Portland, has two buildings underway at Gilsland Farm in Falmouth. The largest of the two — 4,560 square feet — will house the Ann and Jim Hancock Native Plants Education Center. A 2,330-square-foot annex will be used for equipment storage. The buildings are part of a multi-phase plan to upgrade and add new facilities to the 65-acre sanctuary. Cape Elizabeth-based Down and Back Wood Salvage handled the dismantling of a circa 1830s barn on the site. Portland-based Kaplan Thompson Architects is the designer and R.J. Grondin & Sons, based in Gorham, handled site work. Great Falls Construction, based in Gorham, undertook a seven-month-long renovation of a 47,300-square-foot building at 75 Industrial Way in Portland for Rowe Ford, designed to service commercial vehicles. It features 29 service bays, two overhead doors and a ramp to facilitate drive-in, drive-out access. Four refuse oil heaters were installed, along with a 5,000 holding tank, to burn used automotive oil for additional heat for the building. Portland’s Ryan Senatore Architecture handled the facility’s redesign.