Long before the upper end of Lisbon Street in Lewiston began to see a transformation of the old buildings into high-end apartments, Emilio Andoniades was creating his own Greek revival farther down the street.
The renovation of No. 256 began 23 years ago after Andoniades bought the building that once housed a dance hall, brothel, radio station and shops and stores of all kinds. One by one, he began to renovate the apartments on the second and third floors, doing the majority of the work himself.
Today, there are six stores on the first floor, nine apartments on the third, so far, and one that covers nearly 8,000 square feet on the second floor.
The second floor space features lots of marble and top-of-the-line amenities. It’s rented by Clara Lewis and her husband who moved from Tennessee.
“My husband works for Unum and was relocated to the Portland office, Clara said. “We were looking for apartments and saw this one online and just fell in love with it. A place like this in Portland would cost over $3,000 a month.” Their rent is a third of that.
“It’s worth the commute,” she said.
Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Andoniades moved with his family to Farmington, Maine, when he was 6. After graduating from Edward Little High School in Auburn, he went to Maine Maritime Academy and become a merchant marine.
As a chief engineer on several ships, he had the chance to visit 96 countries and has begun to hang flags of some of them on the outside of his apartment building, adding a bit more culture and color to the block that has become a mecca of Halal and other ethnic shops.
“I rented a bucket lift truck to put up the flags and do some other work, but for what it cost, I decided to just buy one myself. I have a lot more work to do on the exterior of the building next summer, so it was worth buying it instead of renting.”
One of the major renovation projects he hopes to get approved by the city is an elevator.
“I lose a lot of elderly tenants because I don’t have an elevator. It is a lot for them to walk the three flights of stairs,” he said.
Presently, he has one apartment available.
“I am pretty picky about who I rent to. I have already turned away over 20 applicants,” he said. “I want somebody who will stay a long time and is responsible. We have a lot of great tenants and I want to keep it that way.”
Even with a lot of work ahead of him with the renovations and upkeep of 256 Lisbon St., the affable and energetic artisan said he has his sights on purchasing another building.
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- Emilio Andoniades stands in the hallway entrance to the nearly 8,000-square-foot apartment he rents at 256 Lisbon St. in Lewiston For more photos, visit: sunjournal.com/emilio120412
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- The master bath in the second-floor apartment at 256 Lisbon St. in Lewiston features a lot of marble. The living space is nearly 8,000 square feet.
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- The nearly 8,000-square-foot apartment on the second floord of 256 Lisbon St. in Lewiston features lots of marble.
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- The exterior of 256 Lisbon St., Lewiston, is adorned with flags from countries owner Emilio Andoiades visited while a chief engineer with the Merchant Marines.
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- There is a grand entrance for every room of the expansive second-floor apartment at 256 Lisbon St. in Lewiston.
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- An apartment on the third floor of 256 Lisbon St. in Lewiston is awaiting rental.
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- A third-floor apartment at 256 Lisbon St. is awaiting rental.
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- A vacant apartment on the third floor at 256 Lisbon St. in Lewiston features a spiral staircase.
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- A hallway leads to the third floor apartments at 256 Lisbon St. in Lewiston.
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- An old apartment at 256 Lisbon St. in Lewiston awaits renovation.
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- Two large refrigerators are part of the kitchen in the expansive second-floor apartment at 256 Lisbon St. in Lewiston.
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- Murals are everywhere in the expansive second-floor apartment at 256 Lisbon St. in Lewiston.
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- A portion of the living room is seen in the nearly 8,000-square-foot apartment on the second floor of 256 Lisbon St. in Lewiston.
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- The open concept of the large second-floor apartment at 256 Lisbon St. is seen from this view looking toward the elevated kitchen in the background.
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