Doug Sanford closes a window in a newly completed loft apartment at the Pepperell Mill Complex in Biddeford, which contains 100 well-appointed apartments and 100 custom-outfitted commercial spaces. Since Sanford started buying vacant mill properties in 2004, he has spent $1.2 million on 1.1 million square feet of space and another $12 million on upgrades and renovations.

The view from a newly completed loft apartment at the Pepperell Mill Complex in Biddeford. Apartments in the mill complex start at $900 a month for a spacious studio and include heat, electricity, cable television and high-speed Internet access – a rental offering that’s rare if not largely unavailable in Portland.

Doug Sanford spends time in his apartment at the Pepperell Mill Complex in Biddeford, which contains 100 well-appointed apartments and 100 custom-outfitted commercial spaces. Since Sanford started buying vacant mill properties in 2004, he has spent $1.2 million on 1.1 million square feet of space and another $12 million on upgrades and renovations.

A map shows the Pepperell Mill Complex in Biddeford.

Books line a shelf inside Doug Sanford’s apartment at the Pepperell Mill Complex in Biddeford. Renovations to the former Biddeford and WestPoint Stevens textile mills preserved most of their historic architecture, including high ceilings, brick walls, river views and honey-colored wood floors.

A portion of the Pepperell Mill Complex in Biddeford. Renovations to the former Biddeford and WestPoint Stevens textile mills preserved most of their historic architecture, including high ceilings, brick walls, river views and honey-colored wood floors.