A real estate firm behind recent major housing projects in Bangor wants to next convert a former factory in Orono into 30 apartments.
High Tide Capital, a Bangor-based firm focused on redeveloping historic buildings, last year bought the property at 74 Mill St. in Orono. The building was home to the Byer Manufacturing Co. for nearly 100 years and went up for sale when its owner decided to retire, developer Dash Davidson said.
His hope is to turn the unique building, which runs along the Stillwater River, and an adjacent one at 80 Mill St. into units with clean, modern finishes. It was built in the late 1860s as a church, then became a factory in 1925, he said.
The project, estimated to cost $6 million to $8 million, will bring more housing to a town with a limited inventory, Davidson said. Orono has a stable population because of the University of Maine, highly educated residents and other positive characteristics, so High Tide Capital jumped at the opportunity to buy the property when it came on the market, he said.
“It’s exciting to dream up the best and highest use of space there,” he said Friday. “Every project that we’ve done is different, and this particular one has good bones. It’s a beautiful building.”
Davidson and his partners at High Tide Capital have converted historic Bangor buildings into housing, including those at 2 Hammond St., 33 State St. and 213 Exchange St. and most recently 27 State St.
Given the success of those projects and strong relationships the firm has built in Greater Bangor, expanding to Orono is a natural next step, he said.
The building at the core of the 74 Mill St. complex was built between 1867 and 1869. The Catholic Society of Orono bought the lot in 1867, then transferred it to the Roman Catholic bishop of Portland in 1869, Davidson said.
The Byer Manufacturing Co. was founded in 1880 in Bangor and made slippers and textile products, then relocated to Orono, according to its website. It expanded into metal stampings and wood-frame folding cots, particularly during World War II. In the 1950s, it made knapsacks and duffels for civilians and the military.
Now the company, known as Byer of Maine, produces cots, hammocks and other products at its New England-style barn in Poland Spring.
High Tide Capital and its partners have proposed 30 apartments, on-site storage, parking, sidewalks and landscaping as part of the Mill Street project. The complex would have units with one, two and three bedrooms, plus a new three-story deck on the north side of the building, according to plans recently presented to the Orono Planning Board.
Those involved in the project have ideas to give future tenants access to the Stillwater River, such as a dock or storage for canoes and kayaks, Davidson said.
High Tide Capital’s application notes there are no recreational trails on the properties, but the owners are receptive to the former railroad bed being used as part of a planned and cohesive trail system along the waterfront.
Davidson said the building has been hidden in plain sight for a long time, and he suspected the finished product will excite and surprise people.
“The [Mill Street] building had a varied and diverse life cycle,” he said. “It’s a special site, and we’re envisioning how it could have a whole new life.”
High Tide Capital is also renovating the vacant Spinning Mill in Skowhegan into apartments and a hotel, its largest project to date. Also underway are two projects in Rumford, according to its application. For the Orono project, it is working with Bangor-based Pike Project Development, Skowhegan-based Wentworth Partners and Associates, Inc. and others.
