SALES
Land
Next Gen Holdings, LLC bought a 1.4± AC parcel of land at 184 Lewis Avenue, Saco from Lisa M. Grenier. John Doyon, CCIM of Malone Commercial Brokers; David Trottier of Realty Sales.
Able Projects LLC bought 16.0± AC of land at 69 Holmes Road in Scarborough from High Meadows, Inc. Drew Sigfridson, SIOR, of The Boulos Company
Office
JLM Enterprises bought a 65,982± SF office building at 198-200 Main Street and 3 Lowell Street in Lewiston from Rubicon-Lewiston Holdings. Chris Paszyc, CCIM, SIOR, of The Boulos Company.
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Portside Systems LLC bought two office condos totaling 3,440± SF at 19 Bridge Street in Kittery from 19 Bridge Street LLC. Katherine Gemmecke, Caitlin Burke, and Kent White of The Boulos Company.
30 Exchange Street LLC bought a 7,400± SF historic brick building at 30 Exchange Street, Portland from Maineland Appraisal Consultants. Peter Harrington of Malone Commercial Brokers; Charles Day of Porta & Co.
Michael Major bought an 8,716± SF office building at 325 US Route One, Falmouth from 325 US Route 1, LLC. Mark Malone, CCIM of Malone Commercial Brokers.
Retail
Muscle City Investment bought an 11,180± SF retail building at 936 Brighton Avenue in Portland from Brighton/Portland LLC. Chris Paszyc, CCIM, SIOR and Nick Lucas of The Boulos Company; Joe Malone and Jennifer Small of Malone Commercial Brokers.
Maine State Credit Union bought a 4,126± SF retail building at 168 Camden Street in Rockland from GL Investments LLC. Joseph Italiaander and Chris Gallagher of The Boulos Company.
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Mami Properties LLC bought a 1,425± SF restaurant condominium at 341 Fore Street, Portland from Boothby Square Properties LLC. Peter Harrington of Malone Commercial Brokers.
Maine Exchange Services, Qualified Intermediary for Central Street Studios LLC bought two retail units at 383 Commercial Street, Portland from Deering Property Development. Joe Malone, CCIM and Jennifer Small of Malone Commercial Brokers.
RSP Bridgton LLC bought a 10,000 square foot retail space at 737 Washington Street, Bath from Nick Papadopoulos and Peter Bissias. Chuck Day of Porta & Co.; Josh Soley of Maine Realty Advisors.
BSEG Properties LLC bought a 3,680 square foot retail space at 27 Bay Street, Winslow from NH Bagg & Sons. Bart Stevens of Century 21; Ben Spencer of Maine Realty Advisors.
Treadstone LLC bought a 4,700 square foot retail space at 47-49 Main Street, Freeport from Daniel G. Karmin Main Street LLC. Ryan Carey of Maine Realty Advisors.
Residential
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An undisclosed buyer bought a three-building, 49-unit multifamily portfolio at 41 River Road in Brunswick from OPA Riverside Limited Partners. Drew Sigfridson, SIOR, of The Boulos Company.
W Squared Property Group LLC bought a 4,855± SF six-unit multifamily building at 1294 US Route One in Freeport from Asher Newfield LLC. Cameron Foster of The Boulos Company; Alexander Matthews of Atlantic Real Estate Network.
Jennifer L. Arps, Inc. bought a 2,678± SF condo at 1250 Forest Avenue in Portland from Dr. Charles Hoag. John Finegan of The Boulos Company; Eric Flynn of Excellence Realty.
28 High Street, LLC bought a 6,864± SF multifamily building at 28 High Street, Portland from I-95 Portland Portfolio I, LLC. Cheri Bonawitz, CCIM and Karen Rich of Malone Commercial Brokers; Tim Millett of Porta & Co.
Anna Simmier bought a 2,240 square foot multi-family at 230 Water Street, Hallowell from Bryan & Elaine Carlson. Nathan Laflin and Ben Spencer of Maine Realty Advisors.
LEASES
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Industrial
The Rope Guru leased 1,500± SF of industrial space at 170 John Roberts Road in South Portland from Carbo Company. Joseph Italiaander of The Boulos Company; Greg Perry of Compass Commercial Brokers.
Office
CP, LLC has leased 2,480 SF of office space at 241 US Route 1 in Falmouth from Falmouth Center, LLC. Steve Baumann, Compass Commercial Brokers.
RBC Capital Markets renewed their 10,900± SF office lease at Two Portland Square in Portland with North River IV LLC. Drew Sigfridson, SIOR, of The Boulos Company; Joe Porta and Peter Gwilym of Porta & Company.
Portland Symphony Orchestra leased 5,428± SF of office space at 85 Exchange Street in Portland from Top of Exchange LLC. Nate Stevens of The Boulos Company; Peter Harrington of Malone Commercial Brokers.
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Hartford Fire Insurance Company leased 4,829± SF of office space at One Monument Square in Portland from Congress Federal Realty, LLC. Jessica Estes and John Finegan of The Boulos Company; Josh Sirchio of CBRE.
Bethany Christian Services of Northern New England leased 1,620± SF of office space at 217 Main Street in Lewiston from Lewiston Properties LLC. Noah Stebbins of The Boulos Company; Tim Millet of Porta & Company.
Right At Home leased 1,600± SF of office space at 51 US Route One in Scarborough from Nonesuch River Plaza LLC. Sasha Bogdanovics of The Boulos Company; Chris Craig of The Dunham Group.
Walden Renewables subleased 953± SF of office space at 424 Fore Street in Portland from sub-landlord Street & Company. Sasha Bogdanovics of The Boulos Company; Pete Harrington of Malone Commercial Brokers.
Gillies Law PLLC leased 760± SF of office space from Spe-Ad Inc at 980 Forest Avenue, Portland. Andrew Ingalls of Malone Commercial Brokers.
Fork Food Lab leased 42,000± SF of office space at 95-97 Darling Avenue, Portland from My Darling LLC. Joe Malone, CCIM and Jennifer Small of Malone Commercial Brokers; Brice O’Connor of The Boulos Company.
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Granite Bay Care, Inc. leased 19,392± SF of office space at 482 Payne Road, Scarborough from Cowabunga LLC. Joe Malone, CCIM and Jennifer Small of Malone Commercial Brokers; Justin Lamontagne of The Dunham Group.
MAS Medical Staffing LLC leased 2,812± SF of office space at 869 Main Street, Westbrook from T&T Development LLC. Joe Malone, CCIM and Jennifer Small of Malone Commercial Brokers; Katie Allen of The Dunham Group.
NewHeight Group LLC leased 1,005± SF of office space at 97A Exchange Street, Portland from Top of Exchange LLC. Peter Harrington, CCIM of Malone Commercial Brokers.
Pan Atlantic Consultants renewed its 920± SF office lease at 1 Union St, Portland from 237 Commercial Street LLC. John Doyon, CCIM of Malone Commercial Brokers.
Luay AlQuraishi leased 500 square feet of office space at 1 Pleasant St., Portland from Venture Talent Solutions. Amanda Melnick of Maine Realty Advisors.
Retail
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US Cellular has leased 2,607 SF of retail space at 343 Gorham Road, South Portland from Cornerbrook, LLC. Jennifer Davies & Steve Baumann Compass Commercial Brokers.
Bangkok Kitchen leased 1,920± SF of retail space at 213 North Street in Saco from SCG Bistro LLC. Noah Stebbins of The Boulos Company.
Brickyard Hollow leased 3,975± SF of retail space at 335 Main Street in Ogunquit from Hanson Properties LLC. Joseph Italiaander and Chris Gallagher of The Boulos Company.
Milan Laser Hair Removal leased 1,500± SF of retail space at 310 Mariner Way in Biddeford from DSM MB II, LLC. Noah Stebbins of The Boulos Company; Tanner Borchardt of Cresa Commercial Real Estate.
Bayside Bark leased 1,000± SF of retail space at 47-57 India Street in Portland from India Middle Junction LLC. John Finegan of The Boulos Company; Peter Gwilym of Porta & Company.
Lil Jam Cookies LLC leased 1,300± SF of restaurant space from Beachwood Properties LLC at 580 Lisbon Street, Lisbon Falls. Andrew Ingalls of Malone Commercial Brokers.
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Willow Salon LLC leased 1,470± SF of retail space from Raphael LP at 209 Western Avenue, South Portland. John Doyon, CCIM of Malone Commercial Brokers; Samantha Marinko of The Boulos Company.
Ray Maurice leased 1,800± SF of retail space at 115 Main Street, Freeport from Landmark Freeport LLC. Mark Malone, CCIM of Malone Commercial Brokers.
Sister’s Gourmet Deli leased 5,000 square feet of retail space at 737 Washington, Bath from RSP Bridgton LLC. Josh Soley of Maine Realty Advisors.
Midcoast Pizza leased 5,000 square feet of retail space at 737 Washington Street, Bath from RSP Bridgton LLC. Josh Soley of Maine Realty Advisors.
Needfire LLC leased 1,400 square feet at 477 Fore Street, Portland from North River IV LLC. Amanda Melnick of Maine Realty Advisors.
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McCain Foods, the world’s largest french fries processor and owner of an Easton potato processing plant, hopes to make one of America’s favorite guilty pleasures a little more virtuous with a new companywide push for sustainable production practices.
The Canadian-based company has pledged to convert to fully renewable energy at its plants by 2030, starting with the creation of five community solar gardens to power 50 percent of its plant in the Aroostook County town of Easton on the Canadian border.
“Climate change is an existential threat. We’re committed to playing our role in solving the problem, and the solar gardens are just the natural next step in our sustainability goals,” said Curtis Swager, McCain’s senior director of government and external affairs.
Plans for the community solar gardens – a term describing smaller plots of solar panels – were announced on June 5, the start of McCain’s self-proclaimed “sustainability week.” The gardens will be spread across Easton, with one being built on a capped landfill.
In addition, McCain plans to work with its growers nationwide to implement more sustainable agriculture practices to satisfy environmentally conscious consumers and help combat the effects of climate change.
“What we try to do is be at the forefront of (sustainable) investment to drive change,” Swager said. “Customers are making more conscious choices about what they eat. We want to make tasty food and – in making food – have smart, sustainable farming.”
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McCain’s push for more sustainable agriculture involves the implementation of regenerative agriculture practices within its potato patches across five states and nine facilities.
Regenerative agriculture refers to a set of sustainable agriculture practices that aim to enrich the soil in which crops are grown. The company moved to implement these practices in response to the tangible effects of climate change that its growers have been experiencing.
“We’re seeing crop loss,” Swager said. “No grower – no farmer – wants to see their family farm disappear because of climate change.”
McCain is paying for a volunteer training program to teach farmers how to improve soil health by increasing crop biodiversity and reducing pesticide use, among other techniques. Around 60 percent of McCain’s growers have signed on so far. The company is also planning to provide non-environmental, skill-building opportunities for local families in Easton.
Swager said these efforts are meant to help connect McCain to the Easton community.
“It’s not just about having a facility in Easton – it’s about being good community members in Easton,” Swager said.
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Rachel Schattman, an assistant professor of sustainable agriculture at the University of Maine, believes that McCain’s efforts could have tangible effects. While combating climate change requires a multifaceted approach, she said, changes to energy production can create positive change.
“One of the biggest impacts that farms have (on climate change) is energy consumption. … Research shows us that we get the most bang for our buck by just not using as much energy and by really investing in energy efficiency and moving away from fossil fuels,” Schattman said.
Looking beyond its end-of-the-decade goal, the potato processing giant hopes to continue its push for sustainability throughout the nation.
“We will continue to reset and revamp and regrow and innovate, because, as it relates to climate change, until we collectively, as a whole, solve this problem, we gotta continue to push to solve it,” Swager said.
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Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
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CAPE ELIZABETH — Two boys mowing lawns to make money in the summer? Nothing new there.
How about teenage twins with a growing, all-electric, zero-emission lawn care business fueled by sunshine?
Now that’s cutting edge.
Dimitri and Philip Coupe, both 17, are the owners of Solar Mow, among the state’s few all-electric lawn care services, and likely the only one charged by solar energy. Their 3-year-old enterprise is on the vanguard of a national trend to phase out noisy, polluting gasoline landscape equipment, in favor of battery models.
The evolving story of Solar Mow is as old as the quest to earn some bucks in the summer and as fresh as how to save the planet, one lawn at a time.
It’s also a tale of generational entrepreneurism. Their father, Phil Coupe, is the co-founder of South Portland-based ReVision Energy. From its start as a small renewable energy company in 2005, ReVision has grown to become a leading rooftop solar installer in northern New England, with 350 employees.
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It was the elder Coupe who told his then-high school freshmen in 2020 that their parents would no longer give them money for eating out with friends. Time to get summer jobs.
Recalling his teenage days mowing lawns, and always thinking of climate-friendly angles, Coupe suggested that the twins start a zero-emission lawn care service. Be your own boss, he told them. And because they (of course) live in a house with solar-electric panels on the roof, they would be able to charge the mower batteries without fossil fuels.
Photo courtesy of Solar Mow
The idea wasn’t a slam-dunk. The kids were 14 years old. They were busy with sports. And they only had $400 in the bank. Luckily, they were able to negotiate a favorable loan at the Bank of Dad. For $6,000, they assembled a basic, all-electric landscape lineup: a Ryobi ride-on mower with a 42-inch deck, a 21-inch EGO push mower, a cordless string trimmer and a small trailer.
Next came some Facebook ads, a few flyers and lots of knocking on doors. Suddenly the boys had 12 customers around their Cape Elizabeth neighborhood. Solar Mow was in business.
Too young to drive, the twins depended on dad to move them around at first. They towed the trailer behind an all-electric Nissan Leaf, a company vehicle that featured a graphic and logo, “This car is powered by solar energy.” They tried to find customers close together, so they could ride the mower up the street.
“In that first summer,” Philip remembered, “we didn’t make all the loan back. But it gave us confidence.”
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The following spring, it was time to get the business rolling again.
“Dad started hounding us every day to knock on doors looking for more work,” Philip said. “We were hesitant to do that.”
Dimitri explained why.
Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
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“We were really just lazy,” he said. “Being high schoolers, we’d rather be playing sports on the turf with friends.”
They did reach out, and by the summer of 2021 Solar Mow had 30 accounts, including some in neighboring South Portland and Portland. But the riding mower, built chiefly for weekend warriors and suffering from improperly stored batteries over the winter, started to die. It just wasn’t up to mowing 3 acres of lawn a day. The twins faced a decision: Get another homeowner-style rig or step up to a commercial-grade machine.
They decided to go big. Midway through summer, they went to New Hampshire to take delivery of a Mean Green riding mower with a 60-inch deck. Built in Ohio and billed as having been the world’s first commercial-grade electric ride-on, the Mean Green Rival model can run seven hours on a charge. It’s the Tesla of riding mowers.
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It came with a Teslaesque price, $24,000. That required an additional loan from the family bank. But the new mower’s capabilities allowed Solar Mow to grow to 35 customers this year.
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Getting paid an average of $50 for a weekly cut, Solar Mow generated enough cash flow to pay down the dad debt. Business is good enough that the company has taken on its first employee, a high school friend.
“We’ve made the money back to pay back the loan from dad,” Philip said last week. “Everything now is profit.”
PLUGGED IN
Last Tuesday the young men were working at a home in the Kettle Cove neighborhood of the Cape. They pulled up towing their landscape trailer in the family’s 2022 Ford Escape hybrid plug-in. The SUV can travel more than 40 miles on battery alone and is charged at the Coupe home.
Soon the home’s owner, Sam Milton, came outside.
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Milton had learned about Solar Mow in May through a notice at Cape Elizabeth High School, where the Coupe twins presented a TEDx Talk called, “the future is electric.” Their business model resonated with him.
Milton’s consulting business, Climate Resources Group, helps companies with sustainability issues. He also has solar panels on his roof and drives an electric Chevy Bolt.
“I didn’t even know this was an option until I saw the TED piece,” he said.
Recent rain and warm temperatures had created a shaggy green carpet sprinkled with white clover. As Milton watched, Philip cut a wide swatch in the Mean Green machine. Dimitri maneuvered the weed whacker along the fence line. Their friend, Jack Carignan, trimmed the margins with the push mower. Working together, they buzzed through the half-acre yard in a half-hour.
Milton said he’s happy to support young entrepreneurs running a clean-energy business.
“I hope more companies emulate what they’re doing,” he said.
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CLEAN AND QUIET
The push to electric lawn care is being propelled nationally by laws and ordinances targeting the noise, air pollution and climate-warming emissions associated with gasoline-powered equipment.
California enacted a statewide ban on the sale of most new gas mowers, trimmers and blowers starting in 2024. It includes a $30 million subsidy program to help small landscape companies convert.
In Washington, D.C., gas leaf blowers were banned as of Jan. 1. Some towns around Boston, such as Marblehead and Lexington, have similar bans aimed at quelling cacophony in the leafy suburbs. Some landscape companies have pushed back against these ordinances, citing the cost of converting their equipment. But others have embraced it. One company, T.J. Collins Landscaping in Westwood, Massachusetts, has formed a division called the Quiet Crew that promotes its electric equipment hauled in a large enclosed trailer with solar panels on the roof.
Homeowners also are embracing cordless electric lawn care, according to industry projections. Longer-lasting batteries, reliable operation and prices on par with conventional gas models are helping drive the conversion. For instance: The sort of push mower used by Solar Mow sells in home improvement stores today for $300 to $400, including a battery and charger.
Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
And unlike electric cars, lawn equipment is widely available. Electric mower market share in America has grown to 65 percent, according to a recent report by Fact.MR, a market research firm.
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“Electric lawn mowers have made a complete transition into the mainstream from a novelty,” the report said.
In Portland’s suburbs, though, battery lawn care still has enough cachet to give early entrepreneurs a branding edge.
Jason Batchelor of South Portland parlayed his education in environmental technology and biology into a one-person landscape business, beginning in 2017 with a Kobalt electric push mower. After a couple of years, he also moved up to a Mean Green rider and branched out into organic lawn care. Today his business, Sweet Pea Lawn Care, services 38 customers in South Portland and Cape Elizabeth.
Clients appreciate the no-emissions equipment, Batchelor said, but that’s not their biggest rave.
“I started it for the impact on air quality,” he said. “But what I found is people are just as excited about how quiet it is. That has spread the business even more than the environmental part.”
Chris Capron is a real estate investor in Scarborough who has grass to mow at his area properties. He wanted to go electric but also decided to launch a side hustle called Lawn EV.
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Capron bought two Mean Green riding mowers with 52-inch cutting decks at a dealer in Massachusetts, for $23,000 each. He also has an EGO push mower, weed whacker and blower.
Capron has been splitting lawn care work with his 15-year-old son, Sean.
“The long-term goal is for him to take over the business,” Capron said.
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
As Solar Mow becomes more established, the Coupe twins also are becoming ambassadors for beneficial electrification, the goal among environmental advocates of phasing out all fossil-fueled machines and appliances for those running on electricity from renewable sources.
Last fall the twins were invited to bring their riding mower to L.L. Bean in Freeport and show it off to the grounds crew. A friend’s father supplies equipment to the retail giant and set up the presentation for the crew, which had expressed interest in going all-electric. It was a moment of validation for Solar Mow, as was their TEDx Talk.
Both Dimitri and Philip Coupe said they are interested in climate activism and have begun thinking about how that might translate into career paths. They want to find jobs in something related to sustainability. Rising seniors, the young men are looking at colleges this summer, recently touring their father’s alma mater, Boston College.
Looming graduation has opened up a discussion about the future of Solar Mow. They could run it next summer, but what happens when college starts is an open question.
“We’ve got to make a business decision,” Dimitri said. “But there’s nothing better than being your own boss. That’s what my dad taught me.”
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Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
The Press Herald’s 2021 collaboration with The Boston Globe on the pressures facing Maine’s lobster industry has been honored by the Society of Professional Journalists.
The yearlong project “The Lobster Trap” has won SPJ’s Sigma Delta Chi Award for environment/climate reporting.
Press Herald staff reporter Penelope Overton was the lead reporter on the series, spending nearly a year researching and reporting the story. She was joined by Globe reporters Jenna Russell and David Abel. Two photojournalists – Brianna Soukup of the Press Herald and Jessica Rinaldi of the Globe – photographed the story. The team immersed themselves in the lives of lobstermen on the island of Vinalhaven to understand their struggles as climate change and regulations designed to protect right whales threaten their way of life.
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