N.C. firm lands Brewer mill project
Wednesday, August 30, 2006

City officials announced Tuesday that Niemann Capital LLC, a North Carolina-based community development firm with a strong background in redeveloping defunct mills, is the team selected to refurbish the former Eastern Fine Paper Co. mill site.

A prepurchase and sales agreement with Niemann Capital is expected in the next three weeks, D'arcy Main-Boyington, Brewer economic development director, said during the announcement, held at the entrance of the defunct South Brewer mill.

The focus of Niemann Capital is preserving and restoring historic landmarks. The firm, created in 1994 in Durham, N.C., has been instrumental in refurbishing several tobacco and textile mills in the city's downtown that have revitalized the entire urban district and dramatically changed the city.

"The city is extremely pleased to have a group of this caliber come to this community to restore our history," Mayor Gail Kelly said during the press conference.

The city took ownership of Eastern Fine five months after it closed in January 2004 and has worked for the last two years to redevelop it into a tax-producing entity that returns jobs to the area, while preserving the history of the century-old mill site.

"What drew me to Brewer initially was the opportunity to be involved with such a terrific project," Tom Niemann, president of Niemann Capital, said Tuesday. "This is not an easy project to redevelop."

The businessman, who described the former mill as "the legacy of the community," said he was excited by the challenge of changing the 41-acre industrial property into a mixed-use facility with housing, retail, office and performance space.

"It's become a passion of mine," Niemann said, adding: "What we bring to this project is our past experience."

In addition to its Durham project, Niemann Capital also is working on two other Maine projects, one in Augusta and the other in Waterville.

Initial plans for the 336,000-square-foot building include carving out three levels of town houses, with light streaming in from windows in the ceiling, and constructing a health club for residents.

Niemann said the floor plans for the loft-style town house apartments would be unique and based on the buildings' industrial architecture.

A restaurant is planned, along with a marina, and a connection to a historic walking trail that is expected to stretch from South Brewer to just north of the Penobscot Bridge.

City leaders had chosen Minnesota-based developer Michael Stern for the site last year, but after he made several changes to his plans, city officials decided this spring to go out for a second round of proposals and in July selected the Niemann group.

Niemann said his community development firm is driven by a triple bottom line approach - preserving history, environmental sustainability and community equity.

"I've learned that if you put the community and history of the community before the profits, that works," he said. "Each community is different. We will have more success by listening to the community."

Niemann Capital has extensive knowledge in dealing with federal and other public funds, including federal Historic Preservation tax credits, which will be crucial to the project, he said.

After the prepurchase and sales agreement is signed, the following six to nine months will be used to establish financing, and the community development firm is expected to seek additional public input on the concept designs.

The first spaces for rent should be available in 2009 or 2010, Main-Boyington said.