WISCASSET

The Brunswick developer who bought the Wiscasset Marketplace more than a year ago said he has sold the 1980s-era mall for a small profit.

Bill Moore said he’d only owned the retail center for about a year and a half. The price was right when he bought it — about $1 million. He sold it at the end of December for $1.23 million.

Moore said there were three vacancies before Pet Life, which was competing against True Value, left for Topsham last year ago. He was able to fill that space with a daycare.

Even with the vacancies he was able to make a profit.

However, he became concerned when he learned that Family Dollar may not renew their lease, leaving him with four vacancies. So, he put it on the market, “and got a bite.”

Moore admits he found the Wiscasset market a little difficult as well.

John Tardif of Summit Realty Partners of Lexington, Massachussets, said Summit Realty put together the group who purchased the property. The 34,800- square-foot retail center sits on a little more than 6 acres at 681 Bath Road.

“We set up an LLC and the LLC is WM 681 Bath Road, LLC,” Tardif said.

The LLC is registered in Maine but all inquiries are sent to the property manager, Winslow Property Management, of Lexington.

Tardif said he can’t disclose the individual members of WM 681 Bath Road, LLC — which is like a syndicate of five or six investors — but said most of them have significant real estate experience and most have ties to Maine.

“What we look for are properties that have vacancies and could benefit from strong property management and leasing skills, which we possess,” Tardif said Wednesday. “We also think that it’s a nice little area of Wiscasset for retail. The seasonal traffic … is very strong and Route 1 also has strong commuter traffic so we thought it was a good opportunity for investors.”

He said the traffic count averages out to 17,000 vehicles a day.

There are still three vacancies in the center. Asked if drawing tenants to the strip-mall style retail center is a challenge in this market, Tardif said, “We certainly feel like we have experience with multi-tenant shopping centers and we believe that with that experience, and knowing the market and listening to the folks in the market, we can put together a plan to return the center back to a vibrant shopping center for the residents of Wiscasset.”

Summit Realty Partners have put together a leasing plan and are reaching out to potential tenants to gauge interest, Tardif said.

Winslow Property Management has put together a budget for upgrades at the Wiscasset Marketplace, he said, “so we look to all work together with leasing and property management to make the center more attractive for potential tenants.”

Tardif said this team is excited to get started on Wiscasset Marketplace and returning it to a vibrant shopping center that will serve as a destination for residents and attract those “zooming by” in the summer months.

dmoore@timesrecord.com