“We have a housing crisis. So I said, ‘How can we make something happen here?’” the buyer said of his purchase of a century-old building in Skowhegan.
Get Instant Access to This Article
Subscribe to Mainebiz and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
- Critical Maine business news updated daily.
- Immediate access to all subscriber-only content on our website.
- Bi-weekly print or digital editions of our award-winning publication.
- Special bonus issues like the Mainebiz Book of Lists.
- Exclusive ticket prize draws for our in-person events.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
The buyer of a century-old building in downtown Skowhegan is planning upgrades and the build-out of five second-story apartments that meet affordable rental criteria.
Patric Moore and JPM LLC bought the 16,020-square-foot J. Palmer Merrill building, at 48 Water St., from Greg and Linette Salisbury earlier this year for $499,900.
Jeremy Frantz of Williams Realty Partners and Chris Marcoux of Coldwell Banker Plourde Real Estate brokered the deal.
“We have a housing crisis. So I said, ‘How can we make something happen here?’” said Moore.
MaineHousing funding
Moore owns five buildings in Skowhegan, Gardiner and Waterville. He and his business partner, Alex Hutzley, had 48 Water St. under contract for two years while they finalized funding through MaineHousing’s Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program, which awarded $749,965 to the project.
“The sellers were willing to work with us, so it worked out,” he said.
The Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program adds rental housing that is kept affordable to tenants earning up to 80% of the area median income.
New life
Over the course of 26 years, the Salisburys transformed the ground-floor commercial space to house their businesses, Hilltop Antiques and Lynette’s Cards & Gifts. The Salisburys sought a buyer who would respect the building’s history and architecture while bringing new life to the space.
An Air Force veteran, Moore is director for entrepreneurship at Main Street Skowhegan, a nonprofit focused on revitalizing the Somerset County town. He’s been working to create a shared commercial kitchen and food business incubator at 185 Water St.
The 48 Water St. building came to his attention during a walk-through that was part of a Build Maine conference several years ago in Skowhegan.
“I thought it would be fantastic to have apartments up there,” he said.
Shared infrastructure
The building was attractive for a number of reasons.
“My business partner and I knew we wanted to do another project,” he said. “I’m very familiar with the area and I love being able to reactivate buildings.”
An included parking lot helped clinch the deal. Another draw that helped make the investment feasible was the features shared by the building next door. Called the Renaissance Center and owned by the Skowhegan Economic Development Corp., it has an elevator and stairwell that are accessible to 48 Water St. through fire doors between the two buildings, providing code-compliant egress required at 48 Water St. Additionally, construction of the Renaissance Center included bringing in water lines under 48 Water St. that can be utilized for the addition of a sprinkler system.
Exterior work includes repair of the roof and original copper flashing and reopening historic skylights, paid for by $152,508 through a REvitalizeME downtown sub-grant program funded by the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants Program of the National Park Service and administered by the Maine Development Foundation.
Some brick repointing is needed on the rear.
“Otherwise, the building is in solid shape,” said Moore.
Second-story layout
Most of the work will happen on the second floor.
“We’ll have five apartments, a mix of one- and two-bedroom,” he said.
Rents will be capped 80% of the area median income.
The second floor is currently divided into a couple of dozen rooms, so creating the new layout to create five apartments will require some demolition. Extensive interior renovations will retain historic features such as original wood floors, doors and wainscoting. Utilities will be upgraded and a new cooling and heating system installed. A sprinkler system will be added.
It’s expected that construction will start in June.
“We estimate it will take about 11 months, taking us into 2027,” said Moore.
The ground floor has four commercial spaces that are occupied by businesses owned by the building’s sellers. Greg Salisbury operates Hilltop Antiques, which operates out of three of the four spaces. Linette Salisbury operates Lynette’s Cards & Gifts, which is expected to remain open until the end of March.
The commercial spaces will be renovated as they become available. Moore said he’s working on a business plan and financial projections to develop a neighborhood grocery store in the gift shop space.
The project is expected to cost just over $2 million, financed by MaineHousing’s Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program, historic tax credits, personal equity and a loan from Kennebec Savings Bank.
Woodhull, an architecture, construction and millwork firm in Portland, is serving as architect and general contractor.
“I’m passionate about housing and about historic buildings,” said Moore. “Being able to combine the two and work toward making a positive change is very exciting.”
