East Brown Cow — a Portland real estate management, investment and development firm — added four vintage buildings to its Old Port portfolio, which now numbers 31 buildings totaling more than 1.24 million square feet across 6.1 acres
The buildings are at 1 Dana St., 1 Exchange St., 7 Exchange St. and 377 Fore St.
The acquisition closed over a period of six months for an undisclosed sum.
The company said it has a commitment to the stewardship and revitalization of Portland’s historic architecture and a vision for the evolution of the Old Port neighborhood.
Inter-family deal
The properties were acquired from the estate of Joseph Leader Soley in an inter-family transaction completed without brokerage representation on the buyer’s side.
“My grandfather Joe had a long and storied history with these buildings and the Old Port at large,” said Jacob Soley, East Brown Cow’s director of development.
At the corner of Dana and Commercial streets, 1 Dana St., known as the John C. Brooks Block, was completed in 1853 in the Italianate style. The five-story building contains 13,058 gross square feet and has ground-level retail space occupied by retailer Blanche + Mimi, with class B office space on the upper levels.
One block north, 1 Exchange St., known as the Preble Heirs–International Telegraph Co. Block, was completed in 1867 in the Second Empire style at the corner of Exchange and Fore streets. The building contains 6,180 gross square feet of retail space at ground level, anchored by an Aroma Joe’s that’s expected to open soon, with Class B office space above.
The building at 7 Exchange St., completed in 1867 and called the Preble Heirs Block I, encompasses 7,248 gross square feet and offers ground-floor retail with JAR Cannabis Co. and class B office space on its upper levels.
The building at 377 Fore St., called the Mary L. Deering Block I and built in 1866 in the Italianate style, has 6,875 gross square feet with ground level retail occupied by clothing store Siempre Mas and Class B office space above.
East Brown Cow said it plans to manage the properties and to work with existing tenants. The firm anticipates making investments in the buildings over time.
Rehabilitation, preservation
The transaction follows the firm’s $13.45 million purchase of four buildings on Exchange Street in 2022 and its $11.7 million acquisition of three building on Middle Street in 2021.
As East Brown Cow takes on the stewardship of the latest buildings and integrates them into its larger Old Port portfolio, “we’re excited to bring our own established approach to their redevelopment and management — focusing on proactive investment, thoughtful rehabilitation and preservation, sustainable energy usage and their contribution to the surrounding urban fabric through the people and businesses that inhabit them,” said Soley.
Since its establishment in 1989, the company’s portfolio has grown to include 37 properties totaling more than 1.34 million square feet across 29.65 acres of mixed-use assets in Great Portland.
A year ago, East Brown Cow unveiled a design initiative, with Boston-based Safdie Architects, that the company calls Old Port Square, a four-acre site bounded by Middle, Union, Exchange and Fore streets with retail, restaurants, hotels, residences, offices, parking, publicly accessible open space and community events and programming.
