Old Mill in Sanford, Maine, Could Become 130 Needed Apartments

The textile business was booming back in the day in Maine, and now the buildings are abandoned.

Seacoast Online says a developer from New Hampshire might turn a 103-year-old former mill in Sanford, Maine, into apartments. About 130 apartments. Since the mill hasn't produced anything in a very long time, this could be a super cool option and much-needed.

This is the second attempt at redeveloping the Stenton Mill in Sanford, Maine

Yes this is the second crack at redevelopment. In 2023, WinnCompanies out of Boston, Massachusetts, was going to put in 90 apartments on the top four floors of the five-story mill and then have some commercial space and amenities for tenants on the ground level. That developer signed a purchase and sale agreement, but the project ultimately fell through. The new developer Eric Chinburg is known for going into former mill towns and transforming the run-down often abandoned buildings into new, spiffy apartments.

READ MORE: First New Construction on Portland, Maine’s, Eastern Prom in Over 50 Years

The old Stenton Mill in Sanford, Maine has a proud history

The mill opened in 1922 and is where Goodall Worsted Company originally made its popular Palm Beach Cloth. It was used for men's suits. They closed the mill yard in the 1950s, and yes, there have been other businesses, but nothing like the success of Goodall. It was also a twin building, but the second building burned in 2017, and had to be demolished.

Sanford, Maine is rooting for this much-needed redevelopment

According to Seacoast Online, Keith McBride, the executive director of the Sanford Regional Economic Growth Council, is “thrilled” to have Chinburg Properties involved with the Stenton Mill. They've done impressive work in developing other mills in Biddeford, Maine, and Dover, New Hampshire, and transformed them into new apartment complexes.

We're all rooting for Sanford, Maine, and this redevelopment. The more Mainers have a choice of where to live, the better.