Courtesy / Chinburg Properties
With smaller spaces in demand at Dana Warp Mill, some larger units are being subdivided.
March 3, 2021
Small spaces 'flying off the shelves' at Dana Warp Mill
Courtesy / Chinburg Properties
The Dana Warp Mill in Westbrook is more than 90% full, with a trend since the pandemic began of tenants seeking smaller spaces.
By Maureen Milliken
Early last April, a slew of new tenants had signed on at Westbrook's Dana Warp Mill, but broker Cheri Bonawitz was being cautious about what pandemic shutdowns would bring.
COVID-19 restrictions had recently gone into effect. "We had a lot of activity," she said at the time. "People were ready to sign," but "Now I think everybody's on pause."
It turns out, despite restrictions that have dragged on for nearly a year, the mill on the banks of the Presumpscot River still remains a hot property. And, as before the pandemic, a variety of tenants are looking for the kind of space the renovated 145-year-old classic brick mill building provides.
Bonawitz, a leasing broker for mill owner Chinburg Properties, along with Malone Commercial Brokers colleague Karen Rich for owner Chinburg Properties, said this week, "It's a great building, so it's an easy sell."
Katie Logue, commercial leasing and marketing manager for New Hampshire-based Chinburg, seconds that.
"Smaller spaces are flying off the shelves," she said.
That's true not only at Dana Warp Mill, but in all Chinburg's renovated mill properties with commercial space in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts.
Chinburg also owns Saco Mill 4, in Saco; the under-development Lincoln Mill, in Biddeford, and the Hill and Continental mills, in Lewiston, with Bonawitz the leasing agent for all. Eric Chinburg, company president, said he has an affinity for renovating former mills, with nine more in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Logue said that the company is dividing much of its large vacant mill space into units ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 square feet, or smaller. "It's super beneficial," she said. "It allows us to lease to three great tenants instead of one."
A wide variety of tenants
At Dana Warp Mill, which leases to 75 businesses, tenants who recently signed on range from a variety of artists and photographers leasing studio space, to relocation company New Journey, which leased 1,188 square feet of office space; furniture-maker Wheelden Co., which leased 1,174 square feet of woodworking space; and muralist Dean Barger, who leased 2,685 square feet of studio space.
Some of the businesses already in the mill have expanded their space over the past year. American Roots, the mill's largest tenant, now leases 20,400 square feet. The company expanded over the past year as it ramped up production of PPE items. Smaller businesses, like Campfire Pottery, have also expanded production space.
Chinburg Properties bought the Dana Warp Mill in December 2018 for $5.15 million. At the time, it was 70% occupied. Now the 246,000-square-foot, four-story building is about 90% to 95% full, Logue said. She said few tenants have left since the pandemic started.
"We've been very fortunate, we've been super busy with leasing," Logue said. When the pandemic started "we didn't know which way commercial space was going to go."
Things slowed down briefly, "but then went in the completely opposite direction."
Both she and Bonawitz said that the trend toward smaller space has been the biggest change in the past 11 months. That includes individual or two-person businesses that "want to get out of their house," Bonawitz said.
Some of the recent leases at the mill have been tiny — 120 square feet of retail space for Hair by Kayla, 180 square feet of shop space for SRS Hardware.
"People looking for 500 square feet of space is much more common than it had been," Bonawitz said.
The mix at the mill, including artists, other makers, small manufacturers, office tenants and others gives the mill "a great vibe," Bonawitz said.
Logue said the variety of businesses at the mill adds to its appeal, and businesses often find ways to collaborate with each other.
"It creates this great little tight-knit community," she said.
Courtesy / Rob Mitchell
Downtown Westbrook, with the Dana Warp Mill as a centerpiece, is developing into a place attractive to businesses of all kinds.
Westbrook continues to be a draw
On a bigger scale, downtown Westbrook itself appeals to business owners, both in-state and a growing number from out of state. The proximity to the Maine Turnpike and Portland 20 minutes east are part of the appeal, as are the availability of parking and lower lease prices not found in downtown Portland.
Bonawitz said that despite changes in the office market since the pandemic began, space outside of downtown Portland is still less pricey, particularly for those looking for studio space.
But Westbrook itself is also a draw, with the massive Rock Row multi-use development going up near the city line with Portland, and smaller development throughout the downtown, including the planned 300,000-square-foot Vertical Harvest greenhouse and multi-use development.
Logue said she's been contacted by businesses in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and elsewhere, seeing if locating or expanding their business there would be a good fit.
"The area is so up and coming," she said. "Downtown Westbrook is growing and emerging an incredible amount, and it's only going to get better the next couple of years."
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