Courtesy / Southern Maine Agency on Aging
Southern Maine Agency on Aging staff member Liz Engel prepares to deliver meals during the pandemic.
Updated: July 1, 2020
Nonprofit lists Scarborough office building for $2.5M
Courtesy / The Boulos Co.
The Southern Maine Agency on Aging is selling its headquarters building, listed with Boulos Co., as part of a strategy to optimize its real estate use.
With much of its staff still working remotely, a Scarborough-based nonprofit dedicated to improving quality of life for older adults is looking to sell its headquarters office building for $2.5 million.
The Southern Maine Agency on Aging, led by CEO Megan Walton, listed the building with the Boulos Co. and is shifting toward a more innovative client-focused service delivery model.
Even before the pandemic-related shutdowns, it had set up a building committee in February to look at different ways for optimizing its use of real estate, including selling the Scarborough site, as it seeks to make greater use of virtual, mobile and on-site client programming.
"Then COVID hit and everything turned upside down, and we've seen that we can meet client needs in a completely different way," including using Zoom for training and support groups, Walton told Mainebiz earlier this week.
She said that came as a surprise, given widespread assumptions about the inability of older adults to use technology, adding, "We've seen that we can meet this need in a completely different way."
The organization has an annual operating budget of around $5 million and a staff of about 50, with a lot of work happening in the community, Walton said.
It operates leased nutrition sites in York and Cumberland counties and the Sam L. Cohen Adult Day Center in Biddeford, in a building that it owns.
As it seeks to sell its Scarborough headquarters, Walton said the group is looking at potentially leasing space elsewhere and considering moving some operations to its Biddeford site.
"Give our team-oriented nature, we would love to all be back together in some form or another," Walton said. "I would say that nothing's off the table."
Jessica Estes, a partner and designated broker with Boulos, said the agency has been surprised by the amount of interest in the Scarborough building from potential buyers.
Located at 136 U.S. Route 1, the two-story, 29,868-square-foot building on about 3.1 acres is touted in the listing as "an ideal redevelopment opportunity" with flexible town village center zoning.
"There's been a significant amount of interest, and especially for the market and the business climate right now," Estes told Mainebiz. "The real estate itself is unique in its location, and the size of the lot, at three acres, makes it a pretty rare opportunity to acquire on this site. We've fielded several phone calls and had a lot of discussions and tours."
Estes knows the Southern Maine Agency on Aging well as a member of the building committee set up in February, and underscores that its decision to sell does not mean a reduction in services.
"They're not by any stretch closing or shutting down," she said. "The agency is pivoting in the way that it offers and delivers services to a population that is very difficult to support in a pandemic."
Bigger picture
As for the wider office real-estate market outlook, Estes said, "We've got some clients who are shifting and readjusting their plans, but I don't know of anybody saying they don't need office space."
She also noted that while some contraction in demand will be healthy for the market, "There are still businesses looking for office space out there," she said. "We're still touring and seeing demand, so that's exciting."
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