Agent Jasmin Moulton on Cover of MaineBiz for Unique “Live/Work” Lofts

Our Portland-based agent Jasmin Moulton was featured on the cover of the “Real Estate Focus” issue of Mainebiz for an article about repurposing and re-thinking commercial office space. Moulton is representing unique “Live/Work” luxury lofts, or spaces zoned as both commercial and residential for multi-purpose use.  With the rise in the hybrid work model, tenants can operate their businesses from home. “The Live/Work space is a newer concept in Portland, so it is nice to have the opportunity to highlight this emerging trend,” says Moulton.

“I was very honored to be featured by Mainebiz in the latest ‘Real Estate Focus’ issue, as well as on the digital and print cover,” adds Jasmin Moulton, Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty agent. In 2021, Moulton was featured in Mainebiz for the sale of Hope Island, an iconic 86-acre private island estate, which sold for $7 million. Moulton represented both the buyers and sellers in the extraordinary sale.

The Mainebiz cover story “Inner Space: Converting Vacant Offices for Other Uses Gains Traction in Maine” opens with a story about a textbook printer that had to move into a former call center, which did not have a loading dock, but the company was able to come up with a creative solution to make the new space work. “Such is the new reality of commercial real estate as evolving work habits play out on the property market, sparking a growing number of conversions of under- or unused offices into other kinds of properties from light industrial to residential and educational,” writes Mainebiz reporter Renee Cordes.

The piece expands into other creative uses for commercial space. This is where agent Jasmin Moulton comes in:

With the jump in hybrid and remote work sparked by the pandemic, the blurred lines between home and work are boosting demand for multi-purpose surroundings.

That’s the philosophy behind live/work luxury lofts at 482 Congress St., in a 19th-century small office building owned by brothers Timothy and Christopher Leahy since 2016.

Jasmin A. Moulton, a broker with Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty, says that two of four apartments are under lease, with another two recently finished and on the market.

“The nice thing about offices is that you have this massive space,” she says inside the larger of the two that are still empty. It’s an 1,872-square foot space with a quartz kitchen countertop, oak floors, high ceilings, large windows letting in lots of light on this sunny day, and an open-floor plan that looks like it could accommodate a dance or yoga studio.

While the $4,495 monthly rent for the two-bedroom, two-bath unit may not suit all budgets, she says that having the option to rent one space in which to live and conduct business rather than renting two spaces (residential and commercial) is an attractive alternative for small business owners.

“It’s not for everybody, but the Portland market is unique because there is such demand,” she says, predicting the office-conversion trend to continue. “With less people returning to the office, landlords have been rethinking and repurposing vacant space.”

“With the rise of remote and hybrid work, developers have started to look for residential uses for vacant office space,” adds Moulton. “The idea for the lofts at 482 Congress was to create a space where a business owner could live and work; thus eliminating the need to lease both a commercial and residential space. The lofts can certainly be leased solely as gorgeous, downtown luxury apartments as well. These units have been successfully leased, and we currently have one recently constructed unit remaining.”

For more information, please visit 482congress.com