South Paris retail plaza anchored by Save-A-Lot scooped up as value-add opportunity

Courtesy / The Boulos Co. A 47,308-square-foot retail plaza in the Oxford County town South Paris was sold as a good value-add opportunity.

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By Laurie Schreiber

A 47,308-square-foot retail plaza in the Oxford County town South Paris was sold as a good value-add opportunity to a partnership of local investors.

Cornwall Partners LLC bought 179 Main St. from M.H. Parsons & Sons Lumber Co. for $1.25 million.

Joseph Italiaander and Chris Gallagher of the Boulos Co. represented the buyer and Sandy Ellsworth and Kergan Thomann of RE/MAX Jaret & Cohn represented the seller.

Cornwall Plaza is on 6.35 acres and was built in 1971. The anchor tenant is a regional grocery chain, Save-A-Lot. The property was marketed as a high-visibility location on Route 26 with ample on-site parking and a traffic county of 17,710 vehicles per day.

The multi-use retail strip is 90% leased. In addition. there is a separate stand-alone building that is leased.

South Paris is the commercial center and largest village in the town of Paris, according to the 2023 town report. The town is working to hear from local business owners to discuss economic growth and challenges; and began discussions for a downtown revitalization project aimed at attracting new businesses and improving the overall aesthetic and functionality of the downtown area, according to the report. Priorities include infrastructure investments and community building.

The buyer, Cornwall Partners LLC, is a trio of partners that includes a real estate investor who focuses mostly on office and retail in Maine, and realized the South Paris property had potential, said Italiaander.

The acquisition was financed through Maine State Credit Union.

Some deferred maintenance will be needed.

“The community should be seeing some significant improvements in the coming year,” said Gallagher.

That includes exterior and roofing work that’s underway and eventually some exterior painting, repaving the parking lot, upgrading the signage and pylon and interior upgrades.

Most of the tenants are on month-to-month leases.

“We’re working with the tenants to re-up and extend their leases,” said Gallagher.

Goals include attracting tenants for two vacant spaces of 5,000 square feet and about 1,000 square feet.

The supermarket is in a 15,000-square-foot space. Other tenants include a Laundromat, a home goods store, a batting cage and an eye care professional in the standalone building.

Coming into a space at one end of the center is a new restaurant offering “Asian fusion,” said Gallagher. Work is underway to build out the space and the goal is to open Oct. 1.

The shopping center is on a primary route to the Sunday River ski resort in Newry and has the potential to be a good draw for the community and for one-stop shopping, said Italiaander. Near neighbors include the corporate headquarters of the convenience store and energy company C.N. Brown, and a Paris Farmers Union hardware store.

“It’s a very visible and very easily accessible property,” he said.