It’s a period of flux for the Bridge Street area of downtown Westbrook. Construction vehicles on the new Bridge Street bridge hum during daylight hours, while at One Riverfront Plaza, the offices of major city employer Disability RMS are vacated.

Across the street at the Dana Warp Mill, however, a new and diverse group of businesses have been moving in. The movement was highlighted by an announcement this week that Auburn-based Great Falls Marketing would be opening an office in Westbrook, bringing with it 50 jobs to start – with a goal of 100 by this spring.

At the same time, Westbrook is welcoming its first co-working space at the mill, a place for entrepreneurs and freelancers to work or quickly build projects and websites at lower costs.

According to Nate Stevens, the broker for the Boulos Co., which manages the mill, the activity has been picking up all year. Ten new tenants have moved into the mill in the last 60 days.

For the city, the activity at the mill is welcome news as it prepares to lose the presence of some 350 Disability RMS employees downtown. Most of the company’s employees have already made the jump to the new Disability RMS location in South Portland.

Bill Baker, Westbrook’s assistant city administrator for business and community relations, said this week that while there is no update on future tenants for One Riverfront Plaza, the Dana Warp Mill activity is on par with the amount of outside interest Westbrook has seen lately.

“The new business activity at the mill is symbolic of the positive attitude we are seeing toward Westbrook on the part of investors, entrepreneurs and the market in general,” he said. “There is no question that DRMS was an important loss, but we continue to work with that landlord and broker and many others around the city to ensure a net positive year to year.”

The mill activity also shows a diverse influx of businesses, from small startups to large, expanding companies like Great Falls Marketing, which provides inbound and customer service telemarketing for direct response and retail marketers. The business has now expanded to four locations since 2012. It operates call centers in Auburn and Saco, as well as a customer service center in South Portland.

Steve Mondor, the company’s director of marketing, said Monday that the company wants to have 100 employees working in Westbrook by the first quarter of 2016.

The company, which plans to open in about two weeks, is hiring both full- and part-time positions for inbound sales agents, but, Mondor, said, “Ideally, full time is what we prefer as we need the people.”

Full-time employees are eligible for medical benefits and paid time off, he said.

“I’m sure as we grow and the more agents we have, the more managers we will need,” he said.

Peter Anania, the creator of LocalHost Coworking, said this week that he came up with the idea for establishing a co-working space after a difficult search for office space in downtown Portland. He’s hoping interest in such a space will grow to allow LocalHost to expand across the hall, and eventually to an 8,000-square foot space on the fourth floor.

On Tuesday, Anania was waiting for more furniture to arrive, which will allow a number of its new users to start working in their rented spaces. At LocalHost, there are a series of options available for rent, including a dedicated desk for $200 per month, or a desk with river views for $225. There are still two large offices with river views available for $450 per month.

Anania, who lives in Westbrook, said a dedicated desk at a similar co-working space in Portland costs roughly $400, or double the cost of LocalHost. Then, he said, you have to pay for parking. Co-working spaces eliminate the need for renters to have to pay the added costs of utilities in addition to the rent.

LocalHost already has a number of renters, ranging from freelance marketing professionals to writers and web developers.

“I just saw a need for this,” he said. “There are a lot of people working remotely, and they want a designated office. If there’s enough demand, I’d like to have the largest co-working space in Maine, or New England.”

In a LocalHost press release in October, Mayor Colleen Hilton said she sees the business as “a very exciting development in our downtown.”

“Collaboration as a means for growth and success is a philosophy shared by co-working spaces and the city of Westbrook,” she said.

Baker said there are “more success stories to celebrate” than negatives, including the growth of Idexx Laboratories, and the announced retail development at the Pike Industries gravel pit off Main Street.

He also said there are countless small victories, including many of the new tenants that have popped up in the mill this year, such as the Maine Warrior Gym, 207 Multisport, The Bodhi Shop and Benoit’s Design Co.

On Monday, Bob Turner, the co-owner of 207 Multisport, was still setting up the space on the mill’s first floor. Turner and co-owner Rick Durgin are certified triathalon coaches, and the pair create endurance and nutritional plans for clients. Starting Tuesday morning, they would be hosting a morning cycling session, using technology that allows cyclists to train indoors during the offseason.

Stevens said the influx of new tenants “reiterates that a major draw to the mill is the diverse mix of tenants from tech companies, call centers, attorneys, engineering firms all the way to photographers, artists, dance studios, and food production companies.”

Stevens said the mill has effectively run out of spaces 2,000 square feet or less, meaning he is now subdividing larger spaces to meet the demand for small businesses. He said that in the last two years, as vacancy rates in Portland have dropped and rent prices have soared, it’s becoming more difficult for small businesses to find the right space.

“While Westbrook is an obvious alternative to these companies looking to be as close to Portland as possible, I also think many of the businesses in the mill are here because they want to be in Westbrook and they enjoy the historic environment the mill has to offer, including hardwood floors, high ceilings and great natural light along the Presumpscot River,” he said.

Other new tenants include North Spore Mushrooms, Jocelyn Lee Photography, Communication Technologies Inc., and Jessica Candage Hair & Makeup.

Similar to its Auburn office, shown here, Great Falls Marketing is opening at the Dana Warp Mill. Courtesy photoPeter Anania, the creator of LocalHost Coworking, works in the conference room of his new space at the mill. It’s the first coworking space in Westbrook, and allows freelance professionals to rent individual desks or offices. Staff photo by Andrew Rice A member of 207 Multisport rides at the business’s new location at the Dana Warp Mill. It’s one of ten new businesses to enter the mill in the last two months. Courtesy photo

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