Riverview Martial Arts, which has operated in South Portland for more than 20 years, has signed a 10-year lease with Priority Real Estate Group, owners of the historic former armory at the foot of the Casco Bay Bridge in Mill Creek.
Riverview will take over the armory’s entire second floor, which is 5,000 square feet.
“We were prompted to move to better serve our clients and our community. Our new space at the armory will offer many things that our current space does not,” Drew Atripaldi, executive director of the martial arts center, now located at 146 Ocean St., said this week. “We are excited to be a part of such an extraordinary project, bringing new life to a historic landmark.”
Those benefits include a “convenient location with ample parking,” among others, Atripaldi said.
Jim Howard, president of Priority Real Estate Group, said his company is on track to have the armory redevelopment project up and running sometime around Thanksgiving, with Riverview Martial Arts moving into its new space sometime in December.
Priority Real Estate purchased the armory from the city for $700,000 after several plans for the property fell through, including a glass museum and a sound stage and movie studio.
The $2.5 million redevelopment plan includes adding gas pumps and a convenience store operated by Irving on the first floor.
In addition to signing an initial 10-year lease, Atripaldi said, Riverview also has an option to lease the space for a second,10-year term. Neither party would say how much the lease is on a monthly or annual basis, but both Howard and Atripaldi said they are thrilled with the partnership.
“Whenever we do a development project we are always looking for ways to benefit the community,” Howard said. Riverview, which has spent “more than 20 years working with and teaching kids, was just a great fit. It fit exactly with our philosophy.”
Howard said Priority Real Estate would “invest about half a million” in building out the second-floor space for Riverview. He said the plans include some office space, two, large open studios and a conference room.
Jane Eberle, president of the South Portland/Cape Elizabeth Community Chamber of Commerce, said, “Riverview has been a long-standing business in the area, a partner with the schools and has influenced scores of children who have come through their programs over the years. I think their relocation to the armory is a very good thing for them and the region.”
Atripaldi said that Riverview has been searching for “a new space to better suit our students’ needs” for the past three years. Originally, the martial arts center was located at 50 Market St., the space now occupied by Mister Bagel.
Atripaldi said the center currently operates from a space that offers approximately 3,000 square feet.
The goal with new space at the armory is to offer “two martial arts training classrooms, industry-leading safety mat flooring, a parent viewing area, a front desk and retail lobby, a student lounge and ample natural light,” he said.
In addition, Atripaldi said, the new armory space “will allow us to expand programming to match our award-winning Topsham and Brunswick schools.”
With the new space, he said, the South Portland martial-arts center would be able to offer a summer day camp, vacation camps and an after-school program. Also, Atripaldi said, “the building design allows for multiple offerings during peak programming time due to the two-classroom design.”
The former armory in South Portland’s Mill Creek is undergoing a $2.5 million renovation that will now include Riverview Martial Arts, which is leasing out the whole top floor.
Signs on Broadway in South Portland advertise that the former historic armory is now fully leased.
Drew Atripaldi, of Riverview Martial Arts, teaches classic technique to some young students.
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