Cannabis company buys Androscoggin Mills space with an eye toward growing in downtown Lewiston

This week the Buzz is forecasting, buying and “promot(ing) daily ambitions.”

Curious?

Up first: The subsidiary of a Turner company that calls itself “one of the largest legal cannabis factories in Maine” has bought roughly 150,000 square feet of the Androscoggin Mills complex in downtown Lewiston with an eye toward cultivation.

Blue Future Corp., with ties to Green Future, bought what are known as units A and B of the historic mill from Dancey Deux for $875,000 earlier this month.

Dustin Boutin of KW Commercial and Magnusson Balfour, who brokered the deal, said the usable space is closer to 100,000 square feet on the property and that it was bought with plans for marijuana cultivation.

The building is in the mill district, which does permit cultivation, according to city staff, but there are no current applications for a development review or business license for the address at 15 Locust St.

Green Future didn’t return messages for comment. Its website says the company started in 2012 and was formerly known as Green Legaly, then renamed after an acquisition in 2019.

“We promote daily ambitions through an elegant and easy-to-use cannabis experience, which simplifies access to good feelings,” according to the site.

The subsidiary of a Turner company that calls itself “one of the largest legal cannabis factories in Maine” has bought about 150,000 square feet of the Androscoggin Mills, far right, in downtown Lewiston with an eye toward cultivation. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Buy this Photo

More to feel good about

NAI The Dunham Group is out with its 10th Annual Greater Portland Industrial Market Survey and the Sun Journal asked partner and designated broker Justin Lamontagne if he could cast his eyes just a bit northward for a look at what he sees in the Lewiston-Auburn market.

Southern Maine activity is continuing to spill up this way. From Lamontagne:

“With land costs far less than Greater Portland, developers and landlords can offer lower lease rates to industrial tenants. And with those types of incentives, several businesses are exploring L/A options. Distribution, an industry that has never been healthier largely thanks to the changes in our everyday lives due to the pandemic, is a particularly good prospect for L/A given the proximity to the highway and logistically all parts of the state.”

“L/A has also led the charge on an interesting trend in the industrial market, the potential repositioning and reuse of vacant big-box retail stores and centers as industrial space,”Lamontagne said. “Many of these stores are large warehouses, featuring tall ceilings, loading docks, ample parking, etc. This is a real trend nationally and we’re starting to see signs of it here. In Lewiston, the former Flagship Cinema on Lisbon Street has been leased to an industrial logistics company.”

Interesting, and appreciated.

Then, the not-so-good

This week, Rovva.com analyzed Google Trends to see which states searched for “How to start a business” the most in 2020, then cross-referenced that with five years of new business starts data at the U.S. Census and, combining both, ranked America’s Most Entrepreneurial States.

Maine ranked 48th.

Wyoming was on top, Delaware at the very bottom and New Hampshire at No. 4, for comparison.

Let’s end on a hot note

Maine Life Real Estate has released its Maine’s Hottest Towns of 2020 rankings, looking at which cities and towns across the state had the largest growth in the number of year-over-year home and condo sales, and the area has a few local showings.

Auburn came in at No. 7 with 315 unit sales in 2020 versus 270 in 2019. The median sale price was $198,500, up 21.2%, according to Maine Life Real Estate.

Lisbon rolled in at No. 10 with 131 unit sales, up from 115. The median sale price there was also up by 17.9% to $213,500 in 2020.

Here’s to more hotness in 2021.

Quick hits about business comings, goings and happenings. Have a Buzzable tip? Contact staff writer Kathryn Skelton at 689-2844 or kskelton@sunjournal.com.