Courtesy / Porta & Co.
Built in 1996, 11 Adamian Drive in Auburn was move-in ready for Agren Appliance’s new headquarters.
Updated: May 31, 2021
Growing family-owned appliance business in Auburn expands into new headquarters
Courtesy / Agren Appliance
Agren Appliance owner Jason Agren is seen here at the company’s new headquarters.
A fast-growing, family-owned appliance and mattress company in Auburn bought new digs for its headquarters and also plans to expand its warehouse and distribution facility.
Agren HQ LLC bought 11 Adamian Drive in Auburn from Lepage Leasing for $1.09 million.
Justin Lamontagne from NAI The Dunham Group and Mac Simpson and Peter Gwilyn from Porta & Co. brokered the transaction.
The property comprises a 10,407-square-foot Class A office building on 2.1 acres, with a 70-car parking lot. The property is less than a mile from I-95 Exit 75.
According to marketing information, the building previously served as corporate offices for Flowers Foods, formerly known as Lepage Bakeries. The list price was $1.249 million.
Agren Appliance owner Jason Agren had previously acquired a 12-acre parcel abutting 11 Adamian Drive, said Lamontagne, who represented Agren. When Lamontagne spotted the for-sale sign at 11 Adamian, he said, he quickly notified Agren.
Built in 1996 by its previous owner, the building and acreage are in “phenomenal shape,” Lamontagne said.
“It checked a lot of boxes,” he said. “He bought it at a very good price, and you can’t beat the location. It was a very good smooth transition.”
Hiring
The company previously had its headquarters at its 40 Minot Ave. retail location in Auburn.
“We outgrew the space completely,” said Agren. “We had people sharing offices.”
Agren originally planned to build new offices along with a warehouse and distribution facility on the adjacent 12-acre parcel.
“But this came up, so this was a perfect time to move in,” he said.
Agren moved his staff of 20 to 25 into the building soon after the deal closed.
“We’re doing renovations while we’re in there,” he said. “We don’t need to do a lot. It was move-in ready.”
The company employs 115 in all.
Plans now include hiring five to 10 people. Jobs recently advertised include service technicians, customer service representatives, and delivery and warehouse associates.
The adjacent parcel will still be used to build a warehouse and distribution facility, he noted.
Agren Appliance was founded by Agren’s father in 1969.
“He started doing service calls, then all his customers said, ‘Why don’t you start selling appliances?’” Agren said. “So he started a little retail location on Turner Street in Auburn.”
The business grew. The elder Agren bought and moved into 40 Minot Ave., then expanded to other locations that he leased.
Jason Agren bought the business from his father about 12 years ago and further expanded. Today, he has six retail locations — the original 40 Minot Ave. spot in Auburn, plus Norway, Topsham, Saco, Bridgton and South Portland.
New showroom
In addition to the new office headquarters in Auburn, Agren also recently finalized the purchase of additional space at his South Portland location, which is at 35 Foden Road.
“It was relatively complicated transaction,” said Lamontagne, who represented Agren in that deal also.
The building at 35 Foden Road has long been divided into two condominiums. Agren already owned and occupied one of the condos for one of his appliance stores.
Courtesy / Agren Appliance
Seen here is Agren’s planned new store façade at 35 Foden Road in South Portland.
The owner of a Bedderrest Mattresses and Furniture branch also owned the other condo, which was about 18,000 square feet, said Lamontagne.
When the Bedderrest owner decided to sell his condo, Agren saw an opportunity to expand his space and to create a mattress showroom as part of that store.
But Agren didn’t need the entire 18,000 square feet. So he bought 7,310 square feet for $887,250. Lamontagne and Greg Hastings, also from NAI The Dunham Group, brokered the deal.
FodenWest LLC bought the remaining 11,662 square feet of space for $1,376,750. Hastings and Kirk Butterfield from KW Commercial brokered the sale.
Each unit has its own parking lot.
Agren said he’s working on renovations to the South Portland location. That includes building out the mattress showroom plus landscaping.
Growing demand
Demand has been strong over the past year, because people have been spending money on home improvements, he said.
“But we were growing before that,” he added.
The company is Maine's largest independent combined appliance and mattress retailer, he said. It prides itself on competitive pricing plus delivery and installation.
“In fact, our prices are typically lower than the box stores,” said Agren. “Plus you get that ‘support local’ story.”
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