🔒Former call center in Portland to be converted for indoor soccer training

Construction is underway to turn a former call center in Portland into multiple indoor soccer training fields for youth.

“When my three kids started playing the game, it relit the passion I had for it as a child,” said Joseph Fourré, a local investor who acquired 43 Northport Drive, a 26,784-square-foot office building at Northport Plaza in Portland, from Auto Europe for $3.8 million.

Sasha Phillips and Tony MacDonald of the Boulos Co. represented the seller.

In a separate transaction, Fourré sold a mixed-use portfolio in Biddeford for $7.1 million.

Brandon Mitchell of Malone Commercial Brokers represented Fourré in both deals.

Indoor soccer training

In 2019, Auto Europe, a global leader in international car rentals, bought 43 Northport Drive from L.L.Bean as part of a deal also brokered by the Boulos Co. Both companies used the building as a call center.

This time around, the property was about to hit the market again when Fourré and Mitchell reached out to Phillips and MacDonald.

“It will be a great use for the neighborhood,” Phillips said of the soccer field concept.

Fourré spent 20 years in golf course design, maintenance and supervision in the Bahamas, California and Old Orchard Beach. In Cape Elizabeth, he owns an irrigation and lawn care company called Its Green.

He got involved in real estate investment when he and his wife started picking up properties in South Portland, then Biddeford.

For the indoor soccer project, he had been on the lookout for a location, including vacant land, for over two years, said Mitchell.

Mitchell credited Boulos senior partner Drew Sigfridson for making him aware of 43 Northport Drive as a possibility. A structural engineer determined that columns supporting the roof could be replaced with beams to create a wide-open space with a high ceiling.

“The building was in great shape functionally,” Mitchell said. “L.L.Bean did a huge overhaul about a decade ago.”

Year-round training

“There is a need for more indoor recreation space within our community,” said Fourré, who grew up playing soccer in Maine and went on to play at Michigan State University.

Fourré now coaches for the Maine chapter of the New England Futbol Club, the largest youth soccer club in New England, with over 6,000 players and over $10 million in revenue; along with the Cape Elizabeth Soccer Club and Cheverus High School.

Year-round indoor training is common for the sport, but there isn’t enough indoor turf training space, he said.

“That started the idea to find or build a facility,” he said. “The need was out there. Everyone was having the same problem.”

It took quite a while to find the right space, but 43 Northport Drive fit the bill.

The  facility, to be named Training Ground, will include two soccer fields for “11 versus 11” formations, indicating 11 players on each side. There will be 6v6 fields and glassed-in 3v3 fields for individual or small-group training.

Column removal

Demolition is underway. The project includes removing drop ceilings, interior walls and four columns and installing beams to carry the roof load and high-bay lighting and repositioning the HVAC system to get it above the beam height. The 20-foot-high ceiling, 17 feet high at the beams, offers the height needed for the fields.

The ownership includes Fourré, Paul Baber and a silent partner.

Baber has over 30 years of experience in the sports industry. He is the business development director for New England Futbol Club, manages the Maine chapter, serves on the board of nonprofit women’s soccer team Maine Footy and runs his own soccer camps and clinics. Baber is also a partner in Back River Sports Complex LLC and Union Point Soccer LLC, both of which operate sports facilities in New England.

On top of the property acquisition, construction is estimated at $1.36 million

Cooper Bramble of Maine Street Capital orchestrated financing. Amanda Favreau of Atlantic Federal Credit Union is the project’s loan officer. Greater Portland Council of Governments provided a loan facilitated by director of economic and community development Paul Johnson.

The project team includes Andrew Treworgy of Paul Designs Studio in Portland, Structural Integrity Consulting engineers in Portland and Sebago TEchnics in South Portland. Fourré is serving as general contractor.

A turf vendor, Total Sports Surfaces in Syracuse, N.Y., is scheduled to be on-site in October.

“We hope to be open in November,” said Fourré.

Three major tenants have been secured for use of the fields: New England Futbol Club, Seacoast United Soccer and Soccer Maine. It’s expected that smaller clubs will lease the fields, too.

“We created Training Ground LLC to fill that void so kids can have the opportunity to train and stay active when the weather or daylight might not allow it otherwise,” he said.

Biddeford

In a separate transaction, Fourré’s company, 4A Property LLC, finalized the sale of 180, 234 and 265 Main St. and 14 Jefferson St. in Biddeford.

The mixed-use portfolio, consisting of 44,445 square feet of commercial and residential space and a 31-space parking lot, sold to Fournier Properties for $7.1 million.

Fourré bought the Biddeford portfolio in 2021 and performed renovations mainly in the 180 Main St. building, including installing a new layout, windows and stairwell.

In the latest turnover, rather than purchasing the properties outright from the beginning, Fournier Properties entered into a lease-to-purchase agreement with 4A Property LLC. Over time, that arrangement allowed Fournier to transition from managing the portfolio to ultimately owning it.

The buildings contain a mix of retail, office, residential and service-oriented tenants.

"Downtown Biddeford has changed tremendously over the last decade, and it's been exciting to watch these properties grow alongside the city," said Mitchell. "I think Fournier Properties recognizes the long-term opportunity that comes with owning well-located assets in the center of downtown."