Penobscot Landing

1909 Brewer Building to House Insurance Firm

BREWER — One of the region’s largest insurance agencies has announced plans to move into a historic waterfront building next month.

Representatives of the Allen/Freeman/McDonnell Agency, now located at 570 Stillwater Ave. in Bangor, confirmed last week that the company is buying the Carter Building, a three-story brick and stone structure at 141 North Main St., across the street from City Hall.

Originally occupied by a bank, the building has graced Brewer’s waterfront since 1909. It was among half a dozen or so structures the Brewer Historical Society considered historically significant in its 1996 comprehensive plan.

“With its easy access and ample parking, this Brewer waterfront location will be the right place for our business,” said Jerry Freeman, president of the agency. “We couldn’t be more pleased with our decision.”

Office Manager Jeff McDonnell said the agency, which is purchasing the building from Bill Arata of Veazie for an undisclosed price, plans to move its 11-agent firm to Brewer on Aug. 3.

According to McDonnell, while the agency’s leased location near the Bangor Mall met many of its current needs, the agency’s owners had been searching for a building of their own — and one with room to grow — since early this year.

“One of the things we learned real fast was that buildings like this don’t stay on the market for very long,” O’Donnell said. He said that the agency made an offer within weeks of the building’s being placed on the market and that the offer was accepted last week.

City officials in Brewer said they are pleased with the news because of the agency’s plans to restore the turn-of-the-century building and because the investment represents an early success in the city’s waterfront redevelopment plan, which was adopted by the City Council late last year.

“They like our vision [for the waterfront],” Economic Development Director Drew Sachs said.

Plans for Penobscot Landing, as the waterfront area now is known, call for such attractions as an entertainment district, public market, pedestrian mall, facilities for boaters, an upscale condominium complex, an outdoor amphitheater, and recreational and interpretive trails, among other things. Sachs said the Carter Building is located in an area city officials are eyeing for professional offices.

“I consider the Carter Building one of Brewer’s most visible,” Sachs said. “Not only is it a historical building, it’s also strategically located.”

Though the city intends to assume some aspects of waterfront redevelopment effort, the bulk of the $35 million-to-$57 million effort hinges on private investment, as well as investment from the state and federal governments. Full implementation of the plan is expected to take 10 or more years.

According to city officials, the Carter Building, over the years, has housed the Brewer Savings Bank, the Brewer post office and the Maine Savings Bank, to name a few.

After Maine Savings Bank closed in 1989, the building was divided into smaller office spaces. In recent years, it has been as much as two-thirds vacant. Much of the structure’s former grandeur is hidden under drop ceilings and divider walls. Some of its original wood trim is missing.

The new owners plan to change that. McDonnell said the insurance company would occupy the ground floor of the building, which will be restored first. Space on the other two floors will be rented to other professionals after additional renovation. McDonnell said the staff hopes to move to Brewer by Aug. 3.

“It’s a beautiful old building with a lot history,” McDonnell said. “It still has the old bank vault on one end. It had all of the things we were looking for. The fact that it’s such a neat building is icing on the cake.”

McDonnell said that the agency plans to replace the building’s roof and furnace, remove some of the walls not original to the building to create a bright, open space and replace missing wood trim with trim consistent with the building’s turn-of-the-century origin.

Sachs said that while the agency now has a staff of 11 agents, its projections suggest that 40 or more professionals could work in the Carter Building once it is fully occupied.

“That’s about 40 professionals who’ll be there on a daily basis, year round,” Sachs said. They will help provide a stable customer base for the niche retail stores, public market, artisan’s cooperative, pedestrian mall and other small businesses the waterfront plan proposes for the nearby Penobscot Square area, he said.

The Allen/Freeman/McDonnell Agency is a family-owned and -operated, independent insurance agency that traces its roots back over 100 years. The agency is a leading provider of professional liability coverage for attorneys and accountants in Maine and New Hampshire, according to McDonnell. The company also offers all types of personal and business insurance, including life, health and long-term care policies.

The City of Brewer
80 North Main Street
Brewer, ME 04412
207-989-7500
www.brewerme.org