Courtesy / Town and Shore Associates
Many units in The Mason Block, seen here in an artist's rendering, sold before ground was broken.
September 17, 2018
Portland India Street condo building sells all units
Courtesy / Town and Shore Associates
Residential units in The Mason Block, a new commercial/residential condo building at 62 India St., ranged in cost from a studio for $299,000 to a three-bedroom for $750,000.
Most of the units in The Mason Block, a new residential and commercial condominium building at 62 India St., were sold before ground even broke, and the rest were snapped up by the time the project was completed.
The 54,000-square-foot luxury condo building, built by Landry/French Construction of Scarborough, has 27 residential units and three commercial units. The developer was Reger Dasco Properties and the designer was Mark Mueller Architects of Portland.
Town and Shore Associates marketed the residential units. Broker Sandra Johnson said most of the 27 units were already under contract by the time ground broke in May 2017. As pre-sales, the units were sold on the basis of architect renderings. The first closings were held at the end of July, and the last closed two weeks ago.
The original number of residential units was 29, but four units were combined to create two larger units, she said. Residential units range in size from 600 square feet to 2,200 square feet, and range in price from a studio for $299,000 to a three-bedroom for $750,000.
There’s plenty of interest from potential condo buyers in the neighborhood, she said.
Rapidly changing neighborhood
Johnson said the neighborhood is rapidly changing.
“It’s filled with restaurants and coffee shops and wine bars, and it’s just a couple of blocks from the water," she said. "It’s within walking distance of just about anything you’d want to do in Portland.”
Reger Dasco Properties is a Portland-based partnership between Gordon Reger, principal of Reger Holdings in West Seneca, N.Y.; Demetri Dasco, principal of Atlas Investment Group in Boston; and Joseph Dasco, principal of Boulder Hill Development in western Massachusetts.
The groundbreaking was held May 2017. As part of that event, Reger Dasco presented a check for $15,000 to the Milestone Foundation, 65 India St., across the street from The Mason Block.
Demand remains 'intense'
Courtesy / Town and Shore Associates
An interior residential unit at The Mason Block, 62 India St. in Portland.
Each residential unit has its own deck or terrace and they all share a common terrace.
Buyers are a combination of year-round residents looking to upscale, baby boomers who are downsizing and young professionals, Johnson said. Many have a second home.
“This would probably be their primary residence, but not necessarily,” she said. “Some are from out of state. We’ve got people from New York and Washington, D.C., and one from California.”
She said demand is continuing. “It’s intense,” she said. “There’s a great deal of interest nationally for urban living that enable someone to do things without getting in a car — and Portland is a very manageable city. It doesn’t have the traffic that a larger metropolitan area has, but it has most of the same urban pleasures.”
Commercial sales hot, too
Courtesy / Old Port Specialty Tile Co.
Old Port Specialty Tile Co. bought 3,835 square feet of space at The Mason Block for $965,750 for its showroom.
Malone Commercial Brokers handled the marketing of the commercial condos, which range in size from 1,600 to 1,800 square feet.
Hebert Development LLC bought unit 101, a 1,656-square-foot commercial condo, for $450,000, in a transaction that closed July 30. Mark Malone, Joe Malone and Jennifer Small brokered the deal.
Small said the sale to Hebert represents an expansion to Portland of the Lewiston-based company.
Old Port Specialty Tile Co. bought Units 102 and 103, totaling 3,835 square feet, for $965,750, in a transaction that closed Aug. 1. Joe Malone, Peter Harrington and Small brokered that sale.
The company bought the property in order to relocate its showroom from leased space at 59 Middle St., just a short walk from 62 India St.
The commercial units never formally hit the market, Small said.
“These companies stepped up to the plate very early in the process,” she said. “Once someone gets wind of potential new construction, they step up. There’s a lot of new construction in that area” that makes the area attractive, like construction of the new WEX headquarters.
Their own property
Theresa Rosmus, of Old Port, said, “It was just time for us to have our own property."
“It’s a lateral move size-wise, but it was also an opportunity for us to refresh and reorganize and bring a whole new look to create a better experience for our clients," said Rosmus, public relations coordinator for Capozza Tile and Floor Covering Center, the parent company of Old Port Specialty Tile.
The new look is about showcasing products and services of all of the Capozza companies, she said. That includes things like marble, glass and porcelain work, concrete services, marble epoxy flooring, and carpeting, each set up in display areas so that customers can see how the materials can be used for residential and commercial applications.
“The whole place is laid out like a modern art gallery, very open and airy, with lots of room to sit back and take in the new looks,” she said.
The Old Port showroom is open for business, but there will be a grand opening from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1.
The new space was a natural choice for the company, she said.
“The area means a lot to us,” she said. “We have been in the Old Port itself since we purchased the original space on Commercial Street, and we didn’t want to move too far We fell into this one: It was the right place and the right time and it keeps us in the India Street neighborhood.”
Johnson said Reger Dasco is also planning a 89-unit luxury condominium, Hobson’s Landing, on a 2.5-acre property at 383 Commercial St. that was formerly the Rufus Deering Lumber Co., which closed in November.
Johnson said there are already 14 reservations for units. The project is expected to be ready for delivery in 2020, she said.
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments