Rent $700-$1,700 in Hathaway plan

By JOEL ELLIOTT
Staff Writer

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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WATERVILLE -- Rhode Island developer Paul Boghossian said that a sufficient number of artists, students and other creative types will be able to afford a $700-1,700 monthly rent to float the housing portion of the planned Hathaway Project.

The median gross rent in Waterville is $419, according to 2000 U.S. Census Data.

Boghossian said two studies indicated the market could sustain such pricey spaces. The rent comes out to a rate of about $1 per square foot, Boghossian said.

"They will be beautiful, but they will not be inexpensive," he said.

Boghossian said he had to adjust his original estimates of around $75-85 per square foot for renovation costs. Now, his estimate is $100 per square foot to renovate the 450,000-square-foot complex at the former Lockwood Mill, Hathaway Shirt Company and Central Maine Power buildings.

The structure is in good shape, Boghossian said.

"That is a gem on the waterfront of Waterville, Maine," he said. "This building has had wonderful stewardship, and we are all receiving the benefits."

Boghossian said people who work at places such as T-Mobile at Oakland's FirstPark complex will appreciate the short commute, and the complex would also draw students from Colby, Thomas and other colleges. Boghossian plans as many as 250 beds for student housing.

Business people who work from home will appreciate spaces' capacity to simultaneously accommodate living and office work, the developer said.

"The fact that it is on the doorstep of downtown -- there are so many mills in Maine, but so many of them are in the hinterlands," he said. "I feel so strongly that this building is going to be a catalyst for change to the downtown" of Waterville.

Adding to the appeal and revenue would be a collection of service-oriented businesses, such as coffee shops and dry cleaners, in addition to an unnamed business that Boghossian said will occupy most of the Hathaway building's third floor, employing as many as 300 workers.

Waterville in January sold the Hathaway building to Boghossian for $350,000. This paved the way for him to seek $16.3 million in financing for the proposal.

Joel Elliott -- 861-9252

jelliott@centralmaine.com