In Kennebunkport, a ‘once in a generation’ riverfront opportunity hits the market
Courtesy / Michael Eric Berube
The 5,953-square-foot building at 29 Dock Square, center with green awning, listed earlier this month for $3.75 million, dates back to 1894.
A retail property in the heart of Kennebunkport’s downtown riverfront area has come on the market for the first time in 50 years.
The 5,953-square-foot building at 29 Dock Square was listed earlier this month by Chris Gallagher and Joseph Italiaander with the Boulos Co. for $3.75 million.
“These properties do not trade hands often,” Gallagher told Mainebiz. “Usually these properties are closely held by family members for the long term.”
The listing has attracted notice from prospective local, regional and national buyers.
The building, on 0.19 acre, dates to 1894 and consists of a primarily single-story structure with a small office and additional storage on the second floor. The building sits on pilings.
Today, it’s anchored by an award-winning restaurant called Hurricane. It also houses four smaller retail establishments.
Current leases in the building will run with the sale of the property, Gallagher noted.
The property comes with one parking spot and one private boat dock.
The building is in excellent shape and has been well maintained over the years, he added.
Ice cream and sodas
The 1894 building was originally called Norton House, built by a local hotelier, Reuel W. Norton, according to an article by Sharon Cummins, a historian with the Kennebunkport Historical Society.
It replaced a previous Norton House, built as a hotel and restaurant in 1883 but destroyed by fire in 1893.
The new Norton’s “sold the best cigars that money could buy,” Cummins wrote. “Fruit, confectionary, ice cream, and sodas were served at an elegant soda fountain. Dainty tables lined the riverside porch connected to an expanded canoe landing. The new Norton’s offered no rooms for rent, but the Post Office was moved into the new Norton Block.”
The property was acquired and modified by the Goodwin family around 1900. Uses included an ice cream parlor, followed by a Rexall Drug Store.
Long-time restaurateur
The seller, Michael Brannen, has managed the property for many years and feels that now is a good time to turn over the reigns, said Gallagher.
Brannen’s family has owned the property since 1971.
For over 50 years, Brannen’s mother, Pat Lyna, owned and operated the Riverview Restaurant in what is now the space occupied by Hurricane.
Hurricane relocated from Perkins Cove in Ogunquit and opened at 29 Dock Square in 2001, according to its website.
Gallagher said that, although Brannen is reluctant to let the property leave the family, “he’s confident that we can find a good steward to take care of this iconic Dock Square building.”
The property has a prime location on the square, sitting just over the Kennebunk River, with views of the waterfront.
“Demand for space in this location is incredibly high, and the property has a consistent backlog of potential tenants,” according to the listing, which notes that location has high foot traffic.
The listing adds, “It is a stable asset providing notable rental upside as well as some creative expansion potential.”
“This particular building is probably one of the more iconic one there because of its location right over the bridge – the first building as you come into Kennebunkport,” said Gallagher.
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