Real Estate: Opportunity abounds in Windham

By Larry Eliason

Years of experience in the Commercial Real Estate Brokerage field has provided me with insight to the lack of commercial inventory and opportunities that are available to commercial real estate developers, builders and investors in Windham today.

In the Windham Marketplace today, there is a lack of commercial/light industrial warehouse building inventory and that, ladies and gentlemen, is where I see an opportunity for Commercial Real Estate Developers and Commercial Real Estate Investors to provide new inventory to meet the current demand and, to capture an opportunity for building a commercial investment portfolio and/or developing buildings for immediate sale and profit.

Some Southern Maine towns like Scarborough and Saco have Business Parks specifically designed and developed for the 1,200 square feet to 3,000 square feet commercial users.  These business parks provide easy access to highway systems, may have access to sewer and also provide a professional

looking business park setting for a wide variety of professional, sales and/or service businesses.

In a couple of these developments that I have seen myself, the projects have been designed and developed as commercial condominiums so that small business owners can own and occupy these commercial warehouse units.   The price points can range from $ 125,000 to $ 250,000 depending on size, configuration and amenities.   A typical commercial condominium has a warehouse space, office(s) and ADA bathroom.

Windham has commercial land available in a variety of zones such as C1 Commercial, C2 Commercial, C3 Commercial, Enterprise Development District and the Industrial Zone that could accommodate new Business Parks for Commercial Warehouses.

Unfortunately, Windham does not have commercial warehouse inventory available or very little is available to meet the immediate needs of the commercial side of a fast-growing community.

To fill the void, I feel that we as a town should encourage commercial real estate developers, builders and investors to recognize this void and to plan and develop some new commercial business parks in Windham in partnership to overcome the lack of inventory.

Windham town leaders should look for ways to offer incentives to develop new commercial real estate inventory to help attract and accommodate new commercial construction to fill the void and to also help off-set the amount of new residential development by adding to the commercial real estate tax base.

New impacts fees recently adopted by Windham Town Council were surely done with good intentions for the town’s growing needs for a bigger Town Office, New Police and Fire Station in the future, however, these added impact fees along with the high costs of new construction accomplish the opposite.  

A new Town Office and a New Police and Fire Station should be funded by first developing a needs analysis, project design and develop a realistic budget and then bring it to the taxpayers for their blessing.  Adding impact fees to fund such projects are in my opinion, just another tax and send the wrong message when you are trying to attract new commercial development for growing the commercial tax base.  I wish to encourage the Windham Town Council to revisit this matter and to reconsider the magnitude of these costly impact fees.

In any event, it all comes down to the numbers.  Land costs, building design and site design, local, state
and federal approvals, building costs and yes, impact fees, all roll up into the price tag for a new project.  A Developer needs to recognize an opportunity, evaluate the rewards and risks, and make a judgement call on whether to develop and hold as investment or development and sell such as the commercial warehouse condo concept.

The bottom line here is I really think developers interested in investing in Windham have a niche opportunity to develop new commercial warehouse inventory and at the same time, contribute to the commercial tax base such as the commercial warehouse condominium business park format. 

I also feel that our town leaders need to look at this as an opportunity and as a partnership and not as a cash cow for adding fees to fund town projects. <

This article was brought to you by Larry Eliason. Commercial Broker with Butts Commercial Brokers in Raymond, He can be reached at 207-415-2112.