Beachfront hotel in York sells for $23M

A resort with a historic existence on Limited Sands Seashore in York offered this week to a massive hotel management agency headquartered in Quincy, Mass.

Brent and Mary Jane Merritt offered the Union Bluff Lodge to Giri Resort Administration for $23 million, in accordance to Portland-based Maine Realty Advisors, whose brokers Ryan Carey and Frank Carr represented the sellers.

Giri Lodge Management has 45 New England qualities, nearly 50 percent of which are in Maine. It trades beneath resort brands ranging from Hilton Garden Inn to the Convenience Inn. 

“This lodge has an remarkable legacy and historic that means to the town and neighborhood. Our management workforce, principals, and investors could not be happier to add this hotel to our spouse and children. The Union Bluff is renowned for its course and spot, and we are enthusiastic for Giri to extend its footprint in Maine. We seem forward to working with the wonderful crew associates who have built the Union Bluff successful for so several decades, even though serving the repeat clientele in York. We will also perform with the town and group for long term growth programs.” Ryan Amin, a principal at Giri Resort Management, said in a press release. 

The hotel, at 8 Beech St., has three buildings. The most important creating has 41 rooms and suites, most with ocean sights. In the spring, summer and fall an supplemental 21 rooms are made offered in an adjoining motel-styled annex, in accordance to the hotel’s internet site.

There is also a Conference Dwelling developing, at 4 Beech St., that can accommodate up to 200 friends. It features a conference centre and ballroom.

“This is a monumental sale in the two the hospitality field and for York County as a neighborhood,” Maine Realty Advisors’ president, Josh Soley, explained to Mainebiz.

Dates to publish-Civil War tourism increase

The lodge was originally named the Union Bluff House and was developed in 1868 by Moses French, right after an explosion of tourism adhering to the Civil War led to the local community now identified as York Seaside.

The hotel’s names and homeowners transformed over the several years, but it remained the exact same in look except in the early 1900s, when a second tower was added to the end of the lodge and the central peaked dormer was changed with a sq. tower.
The initial building was a single of the final outdated wooden buildings in York Beach when it was wrecked by fire in 1987.

The resort was rebuilt two a long time afterwards. 

“It’s a landmark,” claimed Carey.

The sellers experienced been operating the establishment since the 1980s.

“They developed a phenomenal business,” he claimed. “It’s what we phone a complete-service resort,” run year-round, featuring food items and beverage, hosting functions this kind of as banquets and wedding, and using about 100 staffers throughout the summertime.

“It’s fairly a busy put, primarily in the summer time,” reported Carey.

The sellers were being completely ready to retire and uncovered potential buyers were paying top rated-greenback for hospitality attributes, he claimed.

“The time was suitable,” said Carey.

Off-sector offer

Carey and Carr labored with the sellers for about 10 months, despite the fact that the hotel was by no means publicly listed for sale.

“We experienced ample desire from a multitude of prospective buyers throughout the region,” said Carey. “The buyer has a robust footprint in York County and Southern Maine and also has the scale to consider on the a venture this massive.”

The problem of the home is exceptional, obtaining been nicely maintained about the several years, mentioned Carey. 

The value was probably not a history for the area but was nonetheless a massive sale, stated Carey.

“Marquee hospitality attributes are inclined to trade in that vary,” he mentioned.

45^th New England assets

Union Bluff is Giri’s 45th New England property.

The lodge is a spot venue for weddings and occasions in southern Maine and caters to equally vacationing vacationers and business tourists. It is significantly less than two miles from the Nubble Lighthouse, Cape Neddick, purchasing regions and the Maine Antique Path. It is in an hour’s drive to Portland. 

“This lodge has an awesome legacy and historic which means to the town and community,” Ryan Amin, 1 of Giri’s principals, claimed in the launch.

Giri plans to function with the town and local community for foreseeable future expansion ideas, Amin explained.

Giri New England has properties in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut. Other Maine-dependent houses are in Ogunquit, Kennebunk, Bar Harbor, Portland, Freeport, Ellsworth, Saco, Brunswick, Waterville, Bangor, Augusta and Wells.