MMC's $10.75M purchase in Westbrook puts eight offices under one roof

Courtesy / NAI The Dunham Group One Riverfront Plaza, Westbrook's largest office building, sold for $10.75 million on June 8. Maine Medical Center, the buyer, will use the space to consolidate information services and administrative offices scattered across the Greater Portland area.

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By Laurie Schreiber

WESTBROOK — Maine Medical Center’s purchase of Westbrook’s largest office building — six stories and 130,726 square feet — allows the health care provider to consolidate information services and other administrative functions that are currently spread across eight office locations.

One Riverfront Plaza, which dates to 2004, sold for $10.75 million, according to Malone Commercial Brokers, which represented the buyer. The deal closed June 8.

Maine Medical purchased the property from U.S. Bank, which acquired the building in a foreclosure auction in February, according to the Portland Press Herald. Charlie Craig from NAI The Dunham Group and David Ross from NAI Hunneman represented the seller and Joe Malone, Mark Malone and Jennifer Small from Malone Commercial Brokers represented the buyer.

The property, which is on the Presumpscot River, was on the market for about a month and received a lot of interest, said Craig. It was put on the market as a bidding opportunity, without an asking price.

“We had multiple bids on it,” Craig said. “We had interest from owner-users — companies that would occupy the building — and we had offers from investors interested in buying the building and then leasing it out.”

The pool of potential buyers was constrained by the fact that they would need to come up with a cash payment, as opposed to being able to take time to get financing, Craig said.

“So the pool of buyers ended up being buyers with substantial capital,” he said. “Most were from Maine and the reason for that is that Westbrook is not a nationally recognized market for office space. National buyers are unfamiliar with the Westbrook office market so they tended to shy away, whereas local investors who are familiar with Westbrook and the Greater Portland office market were able to get a handle on it make an intelligent bid.”

It’s a bit unusual to have such a large building sold in a bidding situation, Craig added.

Well-appointed building, with highway access

The property’s advantages include excellent highway access, just two miles from I-95, Route 25, and Route 202, and proximity to bus and train transportation. Amenities include a tenant fitness center, employee cafeteria and outside patio. A pedestrian bridge connects the site to restaurants and shops in downtown Westbrook. There’s also a leasehold interest in an adjacent city-owned 540-space parking garage.

According to the property’s marketing brochure, One Riverfront Plaza was one of the few Class A office buildings that had 100,000 square feet of contiguous space available in a corporate headquarters setting.

Most recently, the building was leased to Disability RMS. The building was vacant for a year.

Joe Malone said the building is in excellent condition.

Bringing together Maine Medical’s information services team in one location will increase operating efficiencies and benefit providers, nurses and patients, MMC said in a press release.

Reached by phone, MMC Executive Vice President and COO Jeff Sanders said the information services team serves all members and affiliates of MaineHealth, including Maine Medical. About 450 employees are on the IS team, and all will move into the building. Currently, they’re spread among eight locations in the Portland area.

“Getting them closer together so they can work more collaboratively will be helpful,” Sanders said.

Courtesy / NAI The Dunham Group

An aerial view taken during the winter of the six-story office complex along the Presumpscot River in Westbrook, at center of the image, that Maine Medical Center purchased in early June.

Maine Medical had been looking for a location to consolidate its information services off and on for a couple of years — either buying something that was purpose-built, or building new.

“This happened to be available, and it was the right fit,” he said.

Outfitting the space will be kept to a minimum and will likely involve furnishings and wiring upgrades for IS functions, he said. Although Maine Medical had set aside $7 million for rehab, that was a high-end estimate and it’s unlikely that costs will come anywhere close to that, Sanders said. The goal is to be in place by the end of 2017. It’s unlikely the move will result in additional hiring, he said.

According to the Malone release, city officials had expressed hope that a locally based company would take over the building.

“Their purchase and use of this location on the river will be key to the ongoing development of our downtown,” Westbrook Mayor Mike Sanphy said in the press release. “We have appreciated their presence in our community over the years and look forward to partnering with them in more significant ways with this major investment.”