Courtesy / The Boulos Co.
Berzinis bought a 9,600-square-foot industrial building at 148 Anderson St. in Portland in the 1990s, and sold it last September for $1.275 million.
February 3, 2020
Portland-area investor thrives on looking for the next deal
Courtesy / NAI The Dunham Group
Berzinis bought a 9,254-square-foot industrial building, at 1029 Riverside St. in Portland, as a turnkey income-producing property in December.
A Falmouth real estate investor has completed a tapestry of transactions over the past half-year aimed at expanding his portfolio of commercial assets.
Since September, Wayne Berzinis has bought and sold properties in South Portland, Portland, Gorham and Scarborough in a series of exchanges under section 1031 of the IRS tax code. A 1031 exchange allows an investor to defer paying capital gains taxes on the sale of real estate by buying a similar property.
Real estate investment is a sideline for Berzinis. He owns Windham-based Construction Consultants, which distributes products made by Eljen Corp., a Windsor, Conn.-based manufacturer of septic and drainage systems.
Previous career
His real estate investment activity began in the 1990s, when he and his wife started a company called Campus Bookstore, which bought and sold used college textbooks in Greater Portland and Canada.
The business had two retail locations, at 337 Forest Ave. in Portland and at 185 Benjamin W. Pickett St. in South Portland. The latter is adjacent to the Southern Maine Community College campus.
They needed a warehouse to store the books. So at that time, he bought a 9,600-square-foot industrial building at 148 Anderson St. in Portland. He also invested in residential real estate throughout Greater Portland. Some were fixer-uppers, others turnkey.
In 2002, he sold Campus Bookstore, held onto the real estate, and subsequently bought Construction Consultants.
Now he’s focusing on adding more commercial property to his portfolio.
“I like industrial space,” he said.
Generally, he holds onto properties for the long-term as income-producers.
But he decided to sell 148 Anderson St. after receiving an offer of $1.275 million from Trophy Building LLC.
“I got an offer I couldn’t refuse,” he said.
Craig Young and Brice O’Connor of The Boulos Co. brokered that deal, which closed Sept. 6.
After the sale of 148 Anderson, Berzinis performed a 1031 exchange when he bought 29 Sanford Drive in Gorham from Helical Solutions for $1.75 million. The property consists of a 21,360-square-foot industrial building on 1.96 acres in the Gorham Industrial Park
Justin Lamontagne and Greg Hastings from NAI The Dunham Group brokered the sale, which closed Sept. 30.
Helical Solutions has a leaseback until its new headquarters is completed at 49 Raceway Drive in Gorham.
COURTESY / LOOPNET
Berzinis bought 29 Sanford Dr. in Gorham from Helical Solutions LLC after selling 148 Anderson St.
Since buying 29 Sanford Dr., Berzinis has received a lot of interest from potential leasers.
“Hopefully we’ll button up someone in the next week or so,” he said.
Portland industrial
Two other 1031 transactions occurred in December.
Berzinis bought a 9,254-square-foot industrial building at 1029 Riverside St. in Portland from the estate of Patricia E. Sorenson for $840,000. Justin Lamontagne and Greg Hastings from NAI The Dunham Group brokered the sale, which closed Dec. 17.
The turnkey building is fully leased. It was originally designed as a three-tenant building, which could create flexibility for future use, according to marketing materials.
The following day, Berzinis closed on the sale of his former Campus Bookstore property at 185 Benjamin W. Pickett St. in South Portland.
“I had several offers,” he said.
Maine Community College System bought the property, consisting of a small retail shop and a house, totaling 2,000 square feet, for $525,000. Craig Church of KW Commercial / Magnusson Balfour and Chris Craig of NAI Dunham Group brokered the deal, which closed Dec. 18.
Courtesy / NAI The Dunham Group
Related to the 1029 Riverside St. purchase, Berzinis sold his property at 185 Benjamin W. Pickett St. in South Portland.
Berzinis also bought a 5,000-square-foot industrial building at 7 Lincoln Ave. in Scarborough from 5 Spring Hill Drive LLC, for $1.75 million.
Greg Hastings from NAI The Dunham Group brokered the sale, which closed Jan. 15.
'Flexibility' in buildings
“One of the things we look for in buildings to buy is the flexibility of the building, meaning, can it be subdivided, how so, as well the ease and expense of doing it,” said Berzinis. “The Helical Solutions building is probably the nicest industrial building I have ever been in. I was very lucky and thankful to have the opportunity to purchase that building.”
Berzinis handles his own financing for his investments.
“I’m very conservative,” he said. “I don’t live beyond my means. I finance myself, no loans.”
He always has an eye out for property to buy.
“I’m always looking, driving down the road,” he said. “I’m famous for walking up and knocking on the door. It’s fun. I thrive on looking for the next deal.”
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