Room to cruise: Harley-Davidson dealership will move from Portland to Gorham

A rendering shows a building that has black siding.

Rendering / Courtesy New England Motorcycle Group The 673 Main St. location offers a straightforward space to build out in the Harley-Davidson style.

Write a Comment

By Laurie Schreiber

The owners of four Harley-Davidson dealerships in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts are planning to move one of them.

Big Moose Harley-Davidson will move from Riverside Street in Portland to Main Street in Gorham.

“It's a great project, the early designs they shared look awesome and we're excited to be working with them,” said Kevin Jensen, Gorham’s economic development director.

To pave the way for the move, 673 Main Street LLC bought 673 Main St. from Mojo1 LLC for $2.85 million.

Mark Malone of Malone Commercial Brokers and Charles Day of Porta and Co. brokered the transaction.

Photo / Courtesy Malone Commercial Brokers

The listing cited development potential on 673 Main St.’s 3.84 acres.

The property, which previously operated as a furniture store, consists of a 27,842-square-foot retail building on 3.84 acres. The location offers high visibility with traffic counts of 21,550 cars per day, according to the Malone Commercial Brokers listing.

The property was on the market for 618 days, said Malone, who represented the seller.

“During that time, it went under contract twice before the third time that resulted in the sale,” he said.

“The seller sold this location to consolidate with another store in Windham,” Malone added.

Harley-Davidson style

“This building, based on the size and the current condition, which allowed them to configure it efficiently, was very attractive,” said Day, who represented the buyers. “And it’s a great location, with a strong traffic count.”

He added, “I think they’ll be a huge part of the community.”

The buyer, 673 Main Street LLC, is owned by Al Contois and Shawn Lillie. Their flagship dealership is Seacoast Harley-Davidson in North Hampton, N.H. Other locations are in Rochester, N.H. and Revere, Mass., and at 375 Riverside St. in Portland.

Photo / Courtesy New England Motorcycle Group

From left, Al Contois and Shawn Lillie

The four dealerships — which include Harley-Davidson bikes, merchandise, parts and accessories — operate under New England Motorcycle Group.

The rented Portland space was not optimal for the business, said Contois.

“It’s an older building that’s been pieced together over the years,” he said.

Updates would have been difficult in terms of properly representing the Harley-Davidson brand, he said. Contois and Lillie decided it would be better to buy and renovate another spot. The search for a suitable location took over a year. Size-wise, the square-footage in Gorham is about the same as the Portland site.

“But the layout is better,” said Contois. “This store is basically a big box, so it will be much easier for us to set it up.”

Design includes working with Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson, which has guidelines for exterior and interior style and build-out. That includes signage requirements and certain interior and exterior finishes.

A rendering shows a store interior with motorcycles.

Rendering / Courtesy New England Motorcycle Group

The 27,842-square-foot retail building will include a showroom.

Analogue Studio and Optimum Construction Inc., both in Massachusetts, are providing architecture and general contracting services.

$7M investment

Demolition inside the building is expected to start imminently.

“We’re hoping to be in the new facility by the end of October,” said Contois.

The Portland location has about 15 employees; all will be transferred to Gorham.

Including the property purchase, total investment into the new site is expected to be about $7 million. Financing is a combination of a loan from Norway Savings Bank and cash.

A store interior shows counters and stools.

Rendering / Courtesy New England Motorcycle Group

The buyers’ dealerships offer merchandise, parts and accessories.

Harley-Davidson was founded in Milwaukee in 1903. Its corporate headquarters stands on the site where the first factory was built in the backyard of the William C. Davidson family home, according to the company’s website. Today the company has more than 5,000 employees and more than 1,400 independently owned dealerships in nearly 100 countries.

Centrally located

The four stores with New England Motorcycle Group each has a local Harley Owners Group, or HOG, chapter that organizes group motorcycle rides and charity events, Contois noted.

The Gorham location is expected to better serve customers. Based on license registrations, “data show that a lot of riders live in the Gorham area, and where they’re riding in that area is more centrally located to our new facility than our existing facility,” Contois said.

He added, “If you think about it, people aren’t really taking their motorcycles to downtown Portland. Typically, you find people who live in Portland take their rides to the surrounding area.”