Courtesy / BAHA LLC
Buildings B and C, top and middle, are fully built. Construction of Building A is expected to start this coming spring.
December 11, 2020
Saco's Mill Brook Business Center draws a range of small businesses
Courtesy / Kelcie Anderson
BAHA LLC principal Dave Smaha, left, and Michael Anderson of Malone Commercial Brokers are seen here at the Mill Brook Business Center, at 10 Mill Brook Road in Saco. The center’s 16 industrial condo units have almost sold out.
The new Mill Brook Business Center, at 10 Mill Brook Road in Saco, has proven to be a successful draw for a diverse collection of small businesses, including a creative metal manufacturer, electrical contractor, sheetrock contractor, medical parts and equipment contractors, auto detailer and a start-up incubator.
When fully built out, the center will comprise 16 industrial flex condominium units across three buildings on a 3.7-acre site within the larger 70-acre Mill Brook Business Park.
The center was developed by Dave Smaha and Anthony Barbano, doing business as BAHA LLC. They bought the acreage in late 2017 and started selling units in 2018.
The units have been marketed by Michael Anderson of Malone Commercial Brokers.
The most recent sale was a 1,500-square-foot condo acquired by Tom Yale for $229,000. Debrah Yale of Benchmark Real Estate represented the buyer in the deal, which closed Nov. 20. Tom Yale is the former owner of Yale Cordage on nearby Industrial Park Road in Saco.
“We purchased this unit for our new company, Resin Fiber, a maker of FORJ ribbon” a thermoplastic tape-ribbon, Yale emailed Mainebiz. “This commercial condo fills a real need. While popular in other parts of the country, they [commercial condos] are relatively new to Maine. I like that it promotes the sharing of resources with other commercial tenants.”
A month previously, an undisclosed buyer bought a 1,490-square-foot unit for $216,000. The deal closed Oct. 23.
The center consists of Buildings A, B and C.
Buildings B and C are constructed. Building B has 10 units totaling 15,626 square feet. Building C has three units totaling 4,400 square feet.
With the two recent sales, Buildings B and C are now sold out, said Anderson.
It’s expected that construction of Building A, designed with three units, will begin next spring and is expected to be complete by summer.
“There’s been a high amount of interest in these units, partially because there’s high demand for flex units,” said Anderson. “There’s a very low amount of inventory. So it’s a pretty strong market sector right now.”
Unit sizes in the wood-framed, metal-sided buildings range from 1,520 square feet to 3,477 square feet, with 17-foot-high ceilings. Each comes with a bathroom, office, drive-in garage and a basic finish. Buyers also have the option for add-ons or exclusions from the basic package to suit their requirements. Square-footage can be increased with the construction of a mezzanine or by combining units. There are 39 parking spaces. Utilities are included.
Courtesy / BAHA LLC
Industrial condo units at the Mill Brook Business Center in Saco have drawn diverse small businesses.
Prices for the standard-size units start in the mid-$200,000s and the larger units start in the low $300,000s.
Smaha has been engaged in real estate development — primarily small residential but also commercial — for the past decade.
Barbano owns Elite Construction Services in Saco.
Smaha said he and Barbano designed the center with an eye toward selling the units at an affordable price to small businesses.
“This has turned out to be a fulfillment of my vision for this place,” Smaha said. “I love the variety of different businesses. At the end of the day, these businesses own their space. Their payments are similar to what they’d pay on a lease basis, but instead go into their building equity. It’s a win-win situation.”
Smaha noted that some businesses have chosen to build out their own units and others have engaged BAHA LLC to perform customized build-outs.
Courtesy / Kelcie Anderson
The center was designed to sell units at an affordable price to small businesses.
“We wait until we know someone wants it and then fit it up to their exact needs,” Smaha said. “That might not be the most cost-effective way to build, but it’s a good end result.”
Other buyers include BBK Investments LLC, whose principal, Kevin Roche, this year started Saco Industrial Innovation Center in one of the units.
A medical device entrepreneur relocated to another unit from Massachusetts to form Looma LLC. Setting up shop in another two units was a metal and woodworking studio called DSO Creative.
“We’re looking for more land in Saco to put up more units because we have so much demand,” said Smaha. “There was a lull for a while. We lost a couple of sales from businesses that were affected by COVID. But now these small businesses are doing really well. We think we have great formula.”
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