Central Maine Healthcare is selling its building at 29 Lowell St. in Lewiston, which houses the Dempsey Center on the top floor and CMHC’s administrative services on other floors. It has owned the building for more than 20 years. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
LEWISTON — Central Maine Healthcare is selling two of its Lewiston buildings to raise capital to reinvest in its hospital system, according to CEO Steve Littleson.
The building at 287 Main St. is empty and the building at 29 Lowell St. is 25% occupied, he said. Both buildings are for sale through The Dunham Group in Portland.
CMHC has owned both buildings for more than 20 years, Jim Cyr, system director of corporate communications, said Wednesday. He said the Lowell Street property houses the Dempsey Center on the top floor and CMHC’s administrative services on other floors.
The building at 287 Main St. once housed imaging services and covers 49,192 feet. It is listed for $1.25 million, in as-is condition. The building at 29 Lowell St. is listed for $7.75 million and is 73,525 square feet. That building was last renovated in 2012.
This hospital system hopes the income from the sales will help ease financial constraints that have existed since the pandemic, Littleson said. Those constraints are mostly caused by persistent staffing issues exacerbated by the pandemic. Of the 3,200 positions at the hospital, 600 remained vacant as of mid-December. Two hundred of the vacancies are nursing positions.
The hospital will use staffing agencies to hire temporary employees, which comes at a much higher cost than hiring staff directly, he said.
To make up for these shortfalls, the hospital has had to develop creative ways around certain issues, he said. Some of those solutions include partnering with other organizations that will provide care to patients and help bring staff into hospitals. Many hospitals have resorted to seeking capital to cover increased expenses because of financial struggles seen in hospitals across the industry.
The Dempsey Center has no plans to move out of the building at 29 Lowell St. at this time, though officials know the building is for sale, according to Dempsey Center Marketing Director Katelynn Davis.
It will continue to provide all services that are currently offered in Lewiston, she said. Officials with the Dempsey Center hope to stay in the building even after it is sold. “Lewiston is where our roots are and we’re very happy to be a part of this community,” she said.
Central Maine Healthcare is selling its building at 287 Main St. in Lewiston after more than 20 years. An imaging center was located there, but the structure is now empty and on the market for $1.25 million. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.