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Updated: February 19, 2025

Lewiston’s refurbished Picker House Lofts is now welcoming tenants

apartment building PHOTO/COURTESY SZANTON CO. Picker House Lofts is moving in tenants
By Tina Fischer

The city of Lewiston has seen the addition of numerous housing projects over the past few years. The latest is the Szanton Co.'s Picker House Lofts, which brings 72 mixed-income apartments onto the market as the first phase of the redevelopment of the Continental Mill.

The site is on downtown Riverfront Island, located between the Androscoggin River and Oxford Street. The nearby restored Bates Mill complex features offices, restaurants, a brewery, medical space and loft-style housing.

The Szanton Co. is the developer of both the new Picker House Lofts and the Bates Mill apartments, which were built in 2012.

Nathan Szanton, the company's president, said the Picker House Lofts name honors the building’s provenance as a processing center for the cotton mill, where employees would pick impurities out of cotton to ready it for spinning.

The mill was built 1858 and once employed 1,200 people. In the intervening years, it’s been home to a shoe manufacturer, guitar company, and even a competitive cheerleading center.

“It’s so satisfying to give a new birth of life to a building that was once so critical to the life and health of Lewiston,” said Szanton, who was honored as a Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year in 2022. “Plus, it’s just a beautiful building. You can’t build them like this any more.”

Lewiston-based Hebert Construction managed the build and worked with Szanton to retain as many of the building’s original features as possible. The oversized windows have been brought up to date, many of the units have 13-foot ceilings and original flooring, which though its been refinished, has not lost its character.

The 72 apartments are spread over five floors in the 79,000-square-foot building, and are a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Over half are being leased at income-restricted rates, and the remaining 26 are leasing at market rates.

Affordable units range in price from $700 to $854 for a one-bedroom dwelling and $834 to $1,020 for a two-bedroom apartment. Market-rate units start at $1,295 for a one-bedroom abode.

Heat, hot water and internet are included for all units. Saco Falls Management is the rental agent, and Szanton said the company expects to be fully leased in the coming weeks.

Amenities include a rooftop deck with views of the neighboring  Androscoggin River, a fitness center, community room, laundry facilities, off-street parking, an elevator and wi-fi.

This is the fourth mill building that Szanton has brought back to life as housing, and his 14th apartment building in Maine. All of his projects include units offered at affordable rates, for renters earning 60% of area median income or less.

Newmarket, N.H.-based Chinburg Properties owns the rest of the 560,000-square-foot Continental Mill and has approvals to build out 377 additional market-rate apartments, along with commercial space. The company has repurposed a dozen mills in N.H. and Maine.

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