A Yarmouth developer is in the process of purchasing a row warehouse buildings next to the Dana Warp Mill with plans to convert them into loft apartments.
Nick Kampf of Blue Star Corp., is in the process of buying the buildings at 30 Lincoln St. Kampf has already received approval from the planning board for his plans for the buildings. According to the buildings’ current owner Tim Flannery of Flannery Properties, Kampf is expected to close on the property some time this week.
Kampf plans to put 36 units into the two-story main building and 4 units in the smaller building known as the “Creamery,” according to project architect David Lloyd of Portland-based firm Archetype. The units will range from about 570 square feet to 1,100 square feet, said Lloyd.
Kampf declined to comment on his plans for this story.
Some of the units will be rented and some will be sold as condominium units, said Lloyd, while others could possibly start out as rental units and then be purchased. He said the price of the units would most likely be in the middle-market range so that they remain affordable, although he wasn’t sure what the exact price range would be.
The first floor of the main building will be made up of one-bedroom units, with the second floor reserved for larger one-bedroom units with lofts that could serve as second bedrooms, Lloyd said. The four units in the smaller building will be two-bedroom townhouse-style homes.
Lloyd said the buildings will be completely renovated but will still retain some of the charm of the old buildings. They will have wood floors, brick walls and exposed beams and will retain the floor-to-ceiling windows already in place. Lloyd said the four units in the smaller building as well as half of the larger building units would have views of the Saccarappa River. The outside of the buildings will remain as they are with the exception of some cleaning up of the facade, landscaping, and new lighting.
According to the application to the planning board, Kampf is expecting to invest $1.2 million in the renovation project, which is to be finished in January. A small portion of the approximately 2.5-acre lot will be converted from a paved lot to a landscaped one. Several outbuildings that now serve as garages and storage sheds will be removed, according to Lloyd.
Flannery said he had plans to turn the buildings into apartments himself after purchasing it from shoemaker Sebago in June 2001. Sebago was purchased in 2003 by Wolverine Worldwide and ceased making shoes in Westbrook. Flannery said he bought the building right after Sebago stopped making moccasins there and emptied the building.
Flannery said he originally bought the buildings because he needed the extra parking spaces for his Dana Warp Mill tenants. He said he had a few tenants in the building, including the Westbrook Food Pantry, and had plans drawn up for apartments. Then the offer from Kampf came along, and he decided to let someone else build apartments there.
According to the sale agreement, Flannery will share parking with the new owner. Flannery said he wasn’t sure what the new owner was planning to do about the tenants still in the main building.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
