Courtesy / Malone Commercial Brokers
The building at 9-11 Beach St. in Saco, dating back to 1848, will become the new headquarters of the Saco branch of residential mortgage lender Norcom Mortgage.
January 9, 2022
Renovations on tap as Saco mortgage lender moves from lease to ownership
Courtesy / Bryan Daley
From left, Randy Forcier, Bryan Daley, Chris Bedard bought 9-11 Beach St. for their Norcom Mortgage headquarters.
A residential mortgage lender in Saco is used to writing loans, but now it has a new home of its own.
Norcom Mortgage acquired 9-11 Beach St. to be its new headquarters, and renovations are underway. With the move, Norcom becomes a buyer, leaving behind its rented space at 199 Main St. in Saco.
Knightville LLC sold the property to TB3 LLC for $640,000. Michael Anderson of Malone Commercial Brokers and Sam LeGeyt of the Dunham Co. brokered the transaction.
Norcom's new property comprises a 4,940-square-foot retail and office building on just over a quarter-acre. The location is close to the downtown, which has traffic counts of nearly 17,000 cars per day, according to Malone’s marketing information.
The building is an example of a “Greek Revival double house” and is called the “Cobb & Low houses,” built in 1848, according to the city of Saco’s history page.
The first floor of the wood-frame building is occupied by Cia Cafe, a breakfast and lunch spot that also has a location in South Portland.
Courtesy / Malone Commercial Brokers
The first floor is occupied by Cia Cafe, a breakfast and lunch spot that also has a location in South Portland
“They’re a well-established business,” said Bryan Daley, a senior loan officer with Norcom and one of the partners who formed TB3 LLC to buy the property.
The other partners in TB3 LLC were Randy Forcier and Chris Bedard, who are also senior loan officers and partners of Norcom Mortgage in Saco.
The partners will relocate their Norcom branch to the second and third floors.
Saco is one of 36 branch locations of Norwich Commercial Group Inc., doing business as Norcom Mortgage, which is headquartered in Avon, Conn., and began in 1989, according to its website. Norcom also has a Portland location.
Daley, Bedard and Forcier opened the Saco branch seven years ago.
“The three of us own and operate this location,” said Daley.
In addition to the three partners, the Saco branch has two other employees.
The partners formed the Saco branch after successful careers in the lending industry in southern Maine through other entities.
Under the Norcom brand, they continue to do business in southern Maine.
“In 2021, we closed about 325 transactions for about $100 million in business,” said Daley. “We’re all in the top 10 lenders within the larger company.”
The goal has always been to purchase real estate for the branch’s headquarters. The transaction involved a bit of logistics. They formed the limited liability corporation to buy the property. The deal was financed by Bangor Savings Bank.
The LLC is now leasing it to the Norcom Saco branch.
“The building is in very good condition,” said Daley. “It’s a solid building, very well maintained.”
The café will remain in place. Demolition recently started on the upper stories, including removing drop ceilings, carpets and insulation. The job so far has exposed vintage beams.
“We’re trying to figure out a way to work with that, to keep some of that integrity and the historical aspect of the building,” said Daley. “We’ll also make sure it’s airtight and do some spray foam insulation and other energy efficient improvements.”
Courtesy / Malone Commercial Brokers
Work is underway to renovate the second and third floors for Norcom’s new headquarters.
Other projects include redoing exterior siding, all of the windows, and the heating system. The partners have been doing a lot of the demolition themselves but plan to hire contractors for construction.
“We’re getting everything lined up as we speak,” he said.
Renovations are expected to cost $100,000 to $150,000.
“It’s a pretty extensive remodel, but it will be great for our purposes and to restore the original building,” he said.
The goal is to occupy the building in April, a couple of months before the Main Street lease ends.
The project is just the latest in revitalization initiatives in the twin cities of Saco and Biddeford, he noted. That includes redevelopment of mill space on Saco Island and at Pepperell Mill in Biddeford.
“It’s pretty neat to see how Saco and Biddeford have evolved over the last decade or so,” said Daley. “The downtown is all about community. Saco Main Street does a number of events throughout the year that are fun to be part of. Saco has done a great job of supporting the community and businesses.”
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