Former owners of Paul's Food Center takes on Yarmouth retail center
Courtesy / Cardente Real Estate
The former owners of the Portland-based Paul's Food Center did a tax exchange for this retail strip center at 374 U.S. Route 1 in Yarmouth.
YARMOUTH — In 1975, Paul and Annamarie Trusiani purchased 585 Congress St., a mixed-use building in downtown Portland where they owned Paul's Food Center.
With the passing of Paul last September, the Trusiani family made a difficult decision to sell the property.
Enter Michael Cardente of Cardente Real Estate, who found a buyer for 585 Congress St., and then found for Annemarie Trusiani, now in her 80s and known as Momma T, a 1031 exchange property — a 13,800-square-foot retail strip center at 374 U.S. Route 1 in Yarmouth — for $1.9 million, in a deal that closed June 15. The latter property will allow Trusiani to defer capital gains taxes otherwise due on the Congress Street property — and, it’s conveniently near her home.
“Mike did an amazing job in creating this opportunity for my mother,” said Trusiani’s son, Paul “Buzzy” Trusiani. “It was in everyone’s interest to sell the Congress Street property. The way Mike was able to do that and then follow up and find another property for my mother was great.”
The Yarmouth property was not on the market, said Cardente. But the seller, Fogg Farm LLC, decided to take advantage of the market’s low capitalization rate and move on, Cardente said.
The strip center includes two buildings and dates to 1979. The property was perfect for Trusiani for a number of reasons, the broker said. She lives nearby and was looking for a stable investment. The center is located at the southern gateway to Yarmouth with convenient access to Interstate 295. It’s extremely well-maintained and has excellent signage and visibility, and plenty of on-site parking, Cardente said.
Buzzy Trusiani agrees the purchase works well for his mother: It’s low-maintenance with existing tenants and will provide a diversified base of income.
“We have a wonderful Chinese food restaurant that we greatly enjoy, a yoga studio, mortgage broker, hair salon, nail salon, model train store, Casco Bay Home Care, which provides services for people requiring care in their homes — it’s a wide-ranging group of people serving the community,” said Buzzy Trusiani.
Other tenants include Funeral Alternatives, Music Together of Greater Portland and Impawsible Impressions Dog Salon.
Cardente will manage the property with Trusiani’s assistance.
The Yarmouth property consists of a dozen units ranging from 700 square feet to 12,000 square feet, and is almost fully tenanted, with one unit currently available.
“What’s nice is the diversity and scale of the property,” said Trusiani. “It’s an inviting place for smaller businesses to get established in a small community like Yarmouth. One of the reasons we’re excited about being part of the Yarmouth community is that we’ve lived in Cumberland and Falmouth all our lives, so we’re familiar with Yarmouth. And we’re excited about Yarmouth’s future.”
Read more
Portland Flea-for-All moving on up from West Bayside
Flea-for-All set to open in repurposed Paul’s Food Center
Retail strip seen benefiting from Falmouth, Portland markets
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments