A former warehouse in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood is now home to several small businesses and may soon add a brewery or distillery. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood may soon be home to another brewery, but which one isn’t decided yet.
Marshall Goldman, a developer who splits time between California and Maine, wants city approval to build a “brewery or distillery, for which a potential tenant has yet to be secured,” according to his application. The space would be added to his 31,200-square-foot former warehouse at 170 Anderson St., on the corner of Cove Street.
Goldman said he hopes to get the Portland Planning Board’s OK before the end of the year and then will turn his attention to finding a tenant and starting construction. The board is scheduled to consider a traffic movement permit for the project on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
His plans call for an extension of 4,000 square feet on the northern end of the building, with most of the space on the first floor and the rest on a mezzanine level and rooftop deck.
Goldman said the addition will not displace four tenants currently in the building: design firm Angela Adams, Cove Street Arts, CycleMania and Zack Bowen Photography. Plans submitted to the city say that sidewalks around the property will be improved as part of the project.
The developer is confident of finding a brewery or distillery to fill the new space.
“It’s a very vibrant area and we really like being there,” said Goldman, whose company bought the building in 2018 for $4.5 million, more than double the price it sold for in 2014, according to city records.
Several East Bayside brewers contacted Friday declined to comment on the prospect of another competitor in the neighborhood.
A developer’s plans call for an extension of 4,000 square feet on the building, with most of the space on the first floor and the rest on a mezzanine level and rooftop deck. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Over the past decade or so, East Bayside has become a go-to location for breweries and beverage makers. Goldman’s building is next door to Urban Farm Fermentory, which makes cider, beer and kombucha and opened in 2010. Another neighbor, Hi-Fidelity Beer, opened last year.
Anderson Street is the site of Blue Lobster Urban Winery, Goodfire Brewing, Lone Pine Brewing and 1820 Wines. Belleflower Brewing is just across Cove Street. Rising Tide Brewing, which like Urban Farm helped forge the neighborhood’s reputation for craft libations, is a few blocks away at 103 Fox St.
Rising Tide, like many other craft producers in East Bayside, converted existing space for its own use. The Fox Street space was previously a truck garage.
While a “spec” project like his may seem unusual, Goldman said he thinks other brewers are just waiting to tap the neighborhood’s popularity.
There are 165 active licensed breweries in the state, according to data early this year from the Maine Brewers’ Guild. The interest in craft beer has continued to grow despite the pandemic, with 10 breweries added in the last two years.
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