Courtesy / The Downs
Seen here is the master plan for the Downs. Construction of the industrial units is taking place on Lots 6 and 7, upper left corner.
Updated: December 22, 2020
To meet demand for industrial space, new 'flex' units are cropping up
Courtesy / Aceto Landscape Architecture
Industrial condo units are under construction at the Innovation District at the Downs in Scarborough, tapping into low inventory and growing demand.
Industrial unit construction seems to be trending up now in southern Maine.
In Scarborough, the shovel has hit the ground to build 10 industrial condominium and 10 lease units at the Innovation District at The Downs.
“We know that there’s a very, very low amount of inventory on the market right now,” Roccy Risbara, a partner in Crossroads Holdings LLC — developer of the 525-acre Downs project — told Mainebiz. “So we were pretty sure we would see some demand for this style of unit.”
A similar development, the Mill Brook Business Center at 10 Mill Brook Road in Saco, has sold out all 13 of its completed industrial flex condos and has seen significant interest in the last three expected to begin construction this spring. The developer there is BAHA LLC.
Market study
The Scarborough industrial condo and lease development is called Incube and is at 51 Dynamic Drive in the Innovation District. It will offer 1,500- and 2,000-square-foot industrial condos, expected to be available by spring 2021. Each condo will include one finished office space and bathroom, a drive-in door, access to fiber optics and high-speed broadband, and three parking spots with overflow parking.
The total size of each building, which are on adjacent lots, will be 18,000 square feet. Each will occupy 1.13 acres.
The units are being marketed by the Boulos Co. in Portland.
The project was part of the Downs development plan from the beginning, said Risbara.
“We did an in-depth market study when we first got involved in the Downs,” he said. “This jumped out at us as one of those unmet needs in greater Portland. There didn’t seem to be lot of competition out there meeting that demand.”
The units are designed for industrial and commercial startups, small businesses looking to own property and perhaps established businesses scaling outside of their home offices, he said. The smaller units are marketed at $255,000 and the larger at $329,000.
“We’ve seen quite a lot of interest,” said Risbara. “We’ve got some deals ready to come together.”
Construction started about two weeks ago.
Types of businesses interested so far in owning or leasing include a commercial kitchen, an electrical contractor and a small landscape contractor, he said.
Risbara was a 2020 Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year.
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