🔒Patriot Insurance finds new home

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Patriot Insurance's purchase and planned development of a historic motel complex on Route 1 in Yarmouth will give the company a permanent home and further connections to the town where it is based.

Patriot is under contract with the owners of the Down-East Village motel property, a seven-acre complex that comprises four motel buildings, a restaurant, office and pool. Powers Real Estate listed the property at $2.2 million. Patriot President Lincoln Merrill declined to cite the final purchase price.

Patriot Insurance has 69 employees, 64 of whom are in Maine. Its annual payroll is $4.5 million. Patriot expects its workforce to top 100 employees in the next five to 10 years. The space, which is expected to open in the summer of 2017, will be designed to accommodate that expected growth.

“This will be our permanent home,” says Merrill. “So as our growth continues, we'll be able to continue to add onto the site.”

The company has grown from $28 million in revenue in 2002 to $81 million in 2015. It has contracts with over 100 independent agents.

Patriot has leased space in Yarmouth since 2008, most recently at Tyler Technologies Inc., about two miles south on Route 1. (Tyler also has expansion plans in the works.)

At the Down-East Village site, the plan is to tear down the existing buildings and build a new corporate headquarters. The property is situated on the Royal River in a mixed commercial development and residential neighborhood. Frontage and property are in the town's new Route 1 character-based codes.

Down-East Village goes back to 1950, when Herbert and Barbara Ferrell opened the motel and a Gulf gas station. Their son Ed and his wife Sue eventually took over. It was built at a time when “motor hotels” were booming across America, but was only the second so-called motel built in Maine.

“That's one of the things we're trying to be respectful of as we develop the site,” says Merrill. “What's the historical significance of the site, what would we like to preserve? I've spent time with Ed and gone through historical aspects of the property. I was president of the Maine Historical Society at one time, so I want to make sure that what we do on this site appreciates the history of the community and the Ferrell family. I don't know what form that will take yet, but it's a commitment I have.”

The building specs and project financial investment are not nailed down yet, but initial estimates put the space at 10,000 to 20,000 square feet. Spending on construction is ball-parked at $200 per square foot. The site provides space to add on. As a corporate headquarters, the building “won't be on the cheap side,” says Merrill. “We'll be attentive to details. It will be attractive. We're a low-impact business. Except for our employees, few people come to see us. We're quiet for the neighbors.”

Patriot projects more growth

Patriot, a policyholder-owned mutual company, began as Patriot Mutual, a health insurance company, in 1966. In 2002, the company began writing property and casualty insurance and merged with Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance of Michigan in 2007, yet remained as a Maine-based subsidiary company. Today, Patriot Insurance writes several lines of business-personal, commercial, life and bonds.  

“We're small in our industry, but we're pretty big for revenue and employment for the state of Maine,” Merrill says.

Tyler Technologies' plans for expansion prompted Merrill and his board to review their long-term goals. Tyler offered to renew the lease for another 10 years, which the board considered. But the board decided it was the right time to own and build new.

Patriot prides itself as being the approachable, hometown alternative, where employees are part of the community and consumers might run into the president at the grocery store.

“Within a week of putting the property under contract, I ran into the assistant fire chief for Yarmouth, who says, 'You insure my car,'” Merrill says. “A fellow in the grocery store says, 'I haven't seen you in years, but I want you to know you have my insurance.'”

Merrill, the management team and the board meticulously analyzed the company's needs for a new and permanent office location that would accommodate growth.

“We spreadsheet everything we needed — what was important to us and what was important to our employees,” Merrill says.

A primary consideration was geography. Employees commute from all directions, so close access to Interstate 295 and Route 1 was important.

“The interstate exits and Route 1 — the ability to get to the turnpike — were critical,” he says. “We looked at other towns in the area, and only a few met that need. Yarmouth is great because it's got two exits to the interstate. You can shoot down Route 1 and hop onto the turnpike. So it's accessible to our employees from all directions.”

Access to services was also important. Employees tend to go into town during lunch or after work for personal needs — shop for groceries, go to the drugstore and the like.

Other considerations included a nearby post office, an excellent fiber-optic network and exercise opportunities. Of the last, “We have a lot of employees who like to walk, run, bike, play basketball, go to the Y — before, after, even during work,” he says. “I've got employees who shoot baskets at lunchtime in the parking lot, where there's a hoop. Some mountain bike after work. So we wanted to have a site with good access to a trail system.”

Character-based codes

In keeping with Patriot's attention to employee needs, the company also maintains close connections with the community.

“We wanted to be in a community where we could be an integral part,” Merrill says. “We've contributed to library renovation here, to the historical society when they took over a building and renovated it, and to food drives. We feel our presence here makes a difference, and we feel we can do a lot more.”

“It's a great project for Yarmouth,” says Economic Development Director Denise Clavette.

Clavette became Yarmouth's economic development director in January 2015. She has worked not only with Patriot Insurance on its expansion but other businesses considering expansion in Yarmouth. “Patriot Insurance met with town staff early in their process,” she says.

Patriot is eager to be one of Yarmouth's first projects to be considered and approved under the town's new Route 1 character-based codes, says Clavette. The town began to develop new codes for two Route 1 “sub-districts” about two years ago, says Alex Jaegerman, director of planning and development.

“It's a post-World War II, suburban style development area,” he says. “We want to have it grow and develop in a manner that's complementary to the Yarmouth village character. What that means is, we'll be working on making Route 1 a multi-user street. We've been building and extending pathways, and the buildings that develop over time will be more pedestrian-focused. When people think of Yarmouth, they think of Main Street and its historic structures. While Route 1 isn't historic in that way, it can be more reflective of that character. Route 1 is a major commercial thoroughfare. We want to make it an area that speaks to Yarmouth's history and personality. As each project develops — Patriot being an important one — it can contribute to that transformation.”

Under the codes, the Patriot building will have traditional New England architecture, fitting within Yarmouth's historical character, along with a well-designed landscape and gardens, and will connect to the town's walking path.

“They're talking about connectivity to the community and integrating their business in a mixed-development neighborhood,” says Clavette. “When you look at all of that, it's a win-win.”