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December 29, 2021

Sale of Union Wharf closes, changing hands for historic fixture on Portland waterfront

aerial Courtesy / NAI The Dunham Group Union Wharf, in the foreground, formally changed hands. The original wharf dates back to 1793.
By Jessica Hall

The sale of Portland’s oldest continuously used wharf was completed Tuesday, ending five generations of family ownership for Union Wharf and moving its stewardship to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

The institute, a nonprofit marine science and research center nearby on Commercial Street, has said it will keep the wharf as part of the city's working waterfront.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

The Poole family, which has owned the wharf for five generations, is keeping one building, 1 Union Wharf, and has sold the remainder of the wharf, said Chris Craig, a broker with the Dunham Group real estate firm.

That building, which faces Commercial Street, is a retail building and home to the Black Tie Co. restaurant and other tenants, Craig said. 

“The sellers kept one building to keep as their own. The rest goes to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and stays as working waterfront,” Craig said. “Everyone’s happy. The buyers make so much sense.”

Tony McDonald, partner with real estate firm Boulos Co., represented the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

Before the sale, the deal had to go before the city Planning Board to review the subdivision to split 1 Union Wharf from the remaining, larger wharf. 

Union Wharf, which includes 4.3 acres on Commercial Street, went on the market earlier this year.  The Poole family selected the institute’s bid because of its commitment to steward the wharf as a centerpiece of the city’s working waterfront and because it offered a fair price. 

The institute’s plans for Union Wharf include expanding its capacity to support innovative fishermen and fish processors, the aquaculture industry, and other marine economy innovators.

Overall, the wharf contains 12 primary buildings totaling 61,872 square feet of net rentable space. It has 1,514 linear feet of berthing and dockage space and 55,981 square feet of pier space. All of the buildings have been updated or rebuilt since the 1980s. Pier components were significantly updated in 2017. 

The property sits on 3.3 upland acres and one acre of submerged land. 

Union Wharf was built in 1793 at the foot of Union Street. It’s been owned by the Poole family, operating as Proprietors of Union Wharf, for the last 160 years.

In March, Proprietors of Union Wharf, led by Charlie and Malcolm Poole, began working with the Dunham Group to find a new owner. 
 
Over the years, the property has served the working waterfront community with a diverse mix of warehouse space and storage, dockage and berthing, office, retail, restaurant and parking. 

Also in the midst of a pending sale is nearby Custom House Wharf, owned by the same family for more than 200 years.

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