🔒Former Brunswick fire station being repurposed for brewpub and housing

Developers Collaborative and Barrett Made Construction, both based in Portland, are renovating a former fire station in downtown Brunswick into a brewpub, and creating affordable apartments on the second floor. Brunswick built a state-of-the-art $13.5 million fire station at 119 Pleasant St. in 2022 — tripling the size of the former Central Station, which was built in 1919 when firefighting apparatus was still horse-drawn. An evaluation by Portland-based SMRT Architects & Engineers found the 10,000-square-foot building to be structurally sound, and the town wanted to see it reused. Developers Collaborative purchased it for $200,000 in 2023, and renovation got underway early last summer. By later this spring, the former truck bays will welcome customers to Moderation Brewing’s newest taproom. The beer company currently pours just around the corner from the fire station in a smaller space at 103 Maine St. Moderation Brewing is owned by Mattie Daughtry and Philip Welsh. Daughtry is also president of the Maine Senate, a Democrat representing Brunswick. For the new site, the brewery's owners are planning to create an outdoor beer garden and park that can host events and food vendors. The basement of the building will house a community kitchen for the company’s own use and to host other chefs and classes. The second floor is being redeveloped into five studio apartments for tenants who earn 60% or less of the area median income. Mike Lyne, the director of commercial real estate at Developers Collaborative told Mainebiz that all framing and utility rough-in work on the project has been completed. The current phase is primarily interior work, including the installation of new windows and three reproduction bay doors, which have just arrived from Paradise, Pa.-based Vintage Millwork & Restoration. Lyne said the mahogany doors replicate the building’s original bay doors. “These doors are a defining feature of the project, combining durability, craftsmanship and historic detail that reflects the legacy of the Central Fire station," he added. The original fire pole was removed from the building. "One of the crews grabbed the old fire pole before the town sold it to us. I don't blame them," Lyne said. "We are looking for a new pole to put in its place. Due to the need for fire rating between floors, the old hole is sealed and no one can actually use the pole to get from the second floor to the first floor ... but we're getting a pole for sure." Lyne said funding sources for the project has come from Cumberland County’s Affordable Rental Housing Program, Brunswick Affordable Housing Support Fund, a Community Development Block Grant via the Genesis Fund, historic tax credits and financing from Bangor Savings Bank. The project is expected to be finished by the end of March.