Photo / Maureen Milliken
The West Campus at FirstPark has infrastructure, new roads and sidewalks, and will soon have a dog park. The lots are being marketed at $15 an acre.
September 30, 2020
FirstPark reaches major milestone as development focus evolves
Photo / Maureen Milliken
FirstPark, in Oakland, will pay off its 20-year bond Thursday and is working to marketing the remaining lots at the 285-acre campus.
By Maureen Milliken
FirstPark is focusing on finding buyers or leasers for 12 undeveloped lots in the western section of the 285-acre campus on the Oakland-Waterville line.
More Information
More Information
When Jim Dinkle hands Terry Hayes, executive director of the Maine Municipal Bond Bank, an oversized fake check Thursday for $256,722.81, it will mark a huge milestone for Oakland commerce and technology park FirstPark.
The check, which officially won't flow into the bond bank's account until later in the month, is the final payment on a 20-year bond that formed the park.
"It's a long time coming. It'll be great to have that off the books," said Dinkle, executive director of Kennebec Regional Development Authority, which owns the park. The KRDA represents 24 towns in Kennebec and Somerset counties that have struggled for 20 years to bring the promise of 3,000 jobs and big revenue to the region after the authority was established by the Legislature in 1998.
The park's first big triumph in 2005 was attracting T-Mobile, which took two lots. Earlier this year, the telecom company sold its 78,610-square-foot building and 26 acres to Portland commercial property development company J.B. Brown & Sons for $10.7 million. T-Mobile's lease expires in 2027.
In July, Maine Eye Doctors bought a 6,000-square-foot building at 25 First Park Drive, near the entrance, for an undisclosed amount.
Dinkle said the resale amounts of those buildings have heartened him about prospects for the undeveloped 15 lots on the 285-acre campus.
FirstPark in August partnered with commercial real estate broker SVN | The Urbanek Group Advisors to market the property. Lots are at $15,000 an acre, no matter where they are in the park.
The park is on Oakland's sewer system, has fiber-optic cable, is right off Exit 130 of Interstate 95 and is in a Foreign Trade Zone. There are smooth, paved sidewalks lining its roads, even in the undeveloped west campus area. The lots are shovel-ready, Dinkle said.
Residential, manufacturing in the future
The newest focus is the West Campus, which has infrastructure, but no tenants yet for its dozen developable lots.
There is a contract on Lot 4, on Technology Drive near where the residential development would be, and SVN has listed two undeveloped lots owned by L.L.Bean on that road.
He predicts manufacturing could take off in the area. The Foreign Trade Zone, as well as proximity to Canada and Europe opens up a lot of possibilities.
"It's not far-fetched that we could sell land to a major manufacturing facility," he said.
The park was just getting off the ground when the Great Recession hit, and Dinkle said recovery took a while. One effect still being felt is the lack of spec construction.
He said a high absorption rate for industrial buildings, driven in part by the burgeoning cannabis industry in the area, makes lack of that type of building in the area an issue and there's a definite need.
"If they built them, they would be sold. They will come," he said.
The park is also working on residential development of two large lots at the back of the property that have some challenges, inlcuding wetlands, including a vernal pool and a Central Maine Power Co. easement.
When FirstPark was first developed in 2000, residential wasn't part of the plan. "Originally, the purpose was to create jobs and bring some value back to the communities," Dinkle said Tuesday.
He said a professional appraisal of the site in 2018 convinced the board that residential would be a good fit on lots 11 and 12, at the northwest end of the property. "It was his professional opinion and we accepted that," Dinkle said.
The KRDA board revised the covenant, loosening up what's allowed, including adding residential and commercial uses.
Dinkle said the residential focus is on multi-family — either market-rate apartments or condos — that will complement the businesses that are locating in the park.
Courtesy / FirstPark
A conceptual plan for a dog park at FirstPark shows many of the amenities developers of the park are looking for, including tables, a walking path and plenty of water features for the dogs.
Dog-friendly learns new tricks
This year's real estate activity comes after a bustle of activity in the more developed part of the park over the last few years, since Dinkle took over as executive director in November 2017.
The park has also upped its marketing game, partnering with Marshall Communications and taking on projects like working with Greenlight Maine.
In another move that may be unique for a technology and commerce park, FirstPark has also been, since last year, promoting itself as dog-friendly.
The latest iteration is a plan for a dog park on two undevelopable lots on the west campus, also near where the residential would go.
FirstPark held a news conference about the dog park plans Friday, but until funding is determined and a design is hammered out, the details haven't been determined.
Dinkle said it will definitely have parking, a shaded area and some kind of pavilion or roofed structure. He'd like to see a water feature for the dogs. It would be for the community as well as FirstPark businesses and residents.
Dinkle said a rendering with a news release that shows dozens of dogs romping around a green space with a variety of fountains, including one shaped like a giant fire hydrant, is conceptual, pretty much a "Disneyland for dogs," and the reality may look very different.
He said, though, he'd like FirstPark to be known as "the most dog-friendly business park in the country."
"Based on the people and dogs in the community who already enjoy FirstPark's walking trails and sidewalks, we wanted to create something special for the entire region to enjoy," he said. It's the first amenity at the park, and he said, particularly with the new focus on residential, an important one.
Several companies at FirstPark allow employees to bring their dogs to work, including two dogs at Gateway Financial who have their own business cards.
The dog park will be built next year with private funding, using grants, foundations and community donations, he said. Naming rights and sponsorships are available and would expedite the construction.
He said that there's about seven acres that could be used for the dog park.
Courtesy / Emma Dimock, Marshall Communications
Jim Dinkle, left, exective director of the Kennebec Regional Development Authority, and Joyce Galea, co-owner of F3 Manufacturing in Waterville, lead Kim Yonghyon, consul general of the Republic of Korea, on a tour of the plant last year.
Looking to 2021-22
While the issue has been raised that the entire campus could be sold, Dinkle said that would require an outstanding development plan.
"If developer came with a plan across all the acreage, it'd be considered," he said. "But it would have to be a good one. It can't be someone who'd just sit on the land."
The 24 member towns would also all have to sign off on it. "It'd have to be a mighty good proposal," he said.
He doesn't think that scenario is likely, and now they're just looking to keep the momentum going without the cost of the bond as part of the scenario.
Dinkle has also cast a wider net, including hosting Kim Yonghyon, the Boston consul general from the Republic of Korea, in November. Dinkle said at the time the visit, which included a whirlwind tour of Waterville-area businesses, was part of the effort to build awareness of the park.
Dinkle said building a relationship with the Korea consulate — the country has topped the Bloomberg Index for most innovative country for years — was a start of what he hopes will be more relationships that will bring international businesses to FirstPark.
The future is wide open for the park and the involvement of the member communities, he said this week. With no bond payment, the 2021-22 budget will look a lot different he said. What shape that will take, he doesn't know.
"But clearly it will have some impact," he said.
FirstPark Commerce & Technology Park, Oakland
Courtesy / FirstPark
Lots 1 through 12 at FirstPark in Oakland are waiting to be developed, including 2 & 3, owned by L.L. Bean, which were just listed and 11 & 12, which are targeted for residential. A dog park is planned for the "surplus lot" between 4 and 12.
The Kennebec Valley Regional Development Authority
The Kennebec Regional Development Authority comprises the Kennebec and Somerset county towns of Anson, Benton, Canaan, China, Clinton, Cornville, Fairfield, Farmingdale, Gardiner, Hartland, Manchester, Norridgewock, Oakland, Palmyra, Pittsfield, Readfield, Rome, St. Albans, Sidney, Smithfield, Solon, Starks, Waterville and Winslow. It was created by the Maine Legislature in 1998 and owns FirstPark Commerce & Technology Park.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments