Maine's Biggest Real Estate Deals And Development Projects Of 2026

Real estate news in Maine so far in 2026 has been dominated by a handful of very large transactions. The Portland Foreside Development's price tag rose above $1 billion, while two hotels — one on Mount Desert Island, one in Northeast Harbor — each sold for $60 million after financial trouble forced their owners' hands. Bath Iron Works opened a $40 million building, Bates College is spending $45 million on athletic facilities on its Lewiston campus, and a separate Portland office deal reached $33.8 million.

Housing projects lean toward workforce and affordable units, with the biggest unit counts including 173 units planned for Portland's East Bayside, 250 units plus a hotel proposed at Rock Row, 104 units underway in downtown Lewiston, and 172 units coming to Windham. Smaller affordable and workforce housing projects — 54 units near Sugarloaf, 32 in Auburn, 30 in Fairfield, 25 in Augusta and 18 in Rangeley — round out a wave of proposals aimed at the state's housing shortage.

Smaller deals ranged from a $6 million sale of a Unity Environmental University property to a $3 million glass penthouse billed as Portland's most expensive condo, plus mill and hotel conversions each valued between $2 million and $3 million. Public money moved too: $15.9 million in federal economic-development funding, $12 million to revitalize old mill towns, and $8 million toward Auburn housing and infrastructure.

The Biggest-Dollar Deals

• The University of Maine System approved a $20 million purchase of a downtown Portland building, Bangor Daily News reported. (Bangor Daily News)
• The Portland Foreside Development's price tag rose above $1 billion, The Portland Press Herald reported. (The Portland Press Herald)
• Bates College plans a $45 million upgrade to athletic facilities on its Lewiston campus, Mainebiz reported. (Mainebiz)
• An MDI hotel is being sold for $60 million after unpaid contractors forced the owner into bankruptcy, Bangor Daily News reported. (Bangor Daily News)
• The Portland Museum of Art completed a $14 million deal for properties on Free Street, Mainebiz reported. (Mainebiz)
• Bath Iron Works inaugurated a $40 million building to speed production of Navy warships, Mainebiz reported. (Mainebiz)
• A Northeast Harbor hotel in Chapter 11 was sold to a hospitality firm for $60 million, Mainebiz reported. (Mainebiz)
• A downtown Bangor office building sold for $13 million, Bangor Daily News reported. (Bangor Daily News)
• A $33.8 million deal in Portland topped the office-building category to date, Mainebiz reported. (Mainebiz)
• Governor Mills announced $15.9 million in federal funding awards for Maine economic development projects, Maine.gov reported. (Maine.gov)

Notable Sales, Listings And Land Deals

• Stroudwater Crossing, a Class A professional and medical building in Portland, was listed for sale at $7.9 million, Central Maine reported. (Central Maine)
• A $3 million glass penthouse in Portland is the city's most expensive condo, The Boston Globe reported. (The Boston Globe)
• A freestanding retail or restaurant property in South Portland was listed for sale at $650,000, Central Maine reported. (Central Maine)
• A formerly vacant Lewiston hotel got a $3 million makeover, Mainebiz reported. (Mainebiz)
• A former Maine mill turned into a house is selling for $2 million, Bangor Daily News reported. (Bangor Daily News)
• Unity Environmental University sold a property in a $6 million deal, Central Maine reported. (Central Maine)
• A mixed-use property near Wiscasset's main street was listed for sale at $999,000, Central Maine reported. (Central Maine)
• A land trust sought $3 million to preserve nearly 300 acres of the Camp Bomazeen Scout property in Belgrade and avert new development, Central Maine reported. (Central Maine)
• Residents of the Hidden Circle manufactured home park in Jay completed a $1 million cooperative purchase of the property, Central Maine reported. (Central Maine)
• Androscoggin County closed on a $1.4 million property in Lewiston for a planned public safety center, Sun Journal reported. (Sun Journal)
• A $3 million Greenville luxury property comes with apartments, a restaurant and a marina, Bangor Daily News reported. (Bangor Daily News)

Affordable And Workforce Housing Projects

• Twelve workforce housing units are under construction in Stonington, Mainebiz reported. (Mainebiz)
• A converted nursing home will add 11 new senior housing units to Augusta's housing stock, Centralmaine.com reported. (Centralmaine.com)
• A housing project in downtown Lewiston will add 104 units across two buildings, Sun Journal reported. (Sun Journal)
• A Portland Housing Authority development would add 173 units in East Bayside, The Portland Press Herald reported. (The Portland Press Herald)
• A $12.5 million middle-income housing development went to the Greenville planning board, Mainebiz reported. (Mainebiz)
• Construction started on 18 workforce housing units for full-time residents in Rangeley, Central Maine reported. (Central Maine)
• Augusta will get 25 units of supportive housing for chronically homeless people, Centralmaine.com reported. (Centralmaine.com)
• A proposal would build Auburn's first affordable housing project in years, with 32 subsidized units near downtown, Sun Journal reported. (Sun Journal)
• A Carrabassett Valley housing development received a $1 million grant, Sun Journal reported. (​​Lewiston Sun Journal​​ ​​​ ​​​)
• A Windham project will offer 172 units for middle-income households, Mainebiz reported. (Mainebiz)
• Fairfield officials approved a tax deal supporting a plan to build 30 units of affordable senior housing in a former school, Central Maine reported. (Central Maine)
• A workforce housing project near Sugarloaf calls for 54 units and hopes to start construction in the spring of 2027, Sun Journal reported. (Sun Journal)

Market-Rate Housing, Mixed-Use And Other Development

• Cumberland has 45 luxury apartment units sitting empty, The Portland Press Herald reported. (The Portland Press Herald)
• Auburn will get $8 million in federal funding for housing and economic development, including sewer, water and sidewalk infrastructure, Sun Journal reported. (Sun Journal)
• A sprawling complex including a resort and nearly 100 housing units was proposed for the Katahdin area, Bangor Daily News reported. (Bangor Daily News)
• Federal funds are providing $12 million to revitalize Maine's old mill towns, newscentermaine.com reported. (newscentermaine.com)
• Former mill sites in East Millinocket, Lewiston and Lincoln will share $12 million for redevelopment, Mainebiz reported. (Mainebiz)
• Brooklin Boat Yard was awarded a $1.5 million grant for a new building, Mainebiz reported. (Mainebiz)
• Waterville received an $850,000 grant to support downtown development, Central Maine reported. (Central Maine)
• A former Lewiston Elks Lodge property will become a storage facility with up to 450 self-serve units, Sun Journal reported. (Sun Journal)
• A proposal at Rock Row calls for 250 housing units and a 120-room hotel, Mainebiz reported. (Mainebiz)
• Apartments and townhouses are underway at Auburn's former Lake Street School site, with a developer's plan for 17 housing units, Sun Journal reported. (Sun Journal)
• Oxford County will raze an apartment building for a new dispatch and IT center after costs for an earlier proposal reached over $30 million, Sun Journal reported. (Sun Journal)
• A petition for a solar moratorium in Jay qualified for the November ballot after a proposal for roughly 800 to 900 acres of solar panels near the former Androscoggin Mill, Sun Journal reported. (Sun Journal)

Compiled from reporting by the outlets linked above; follow the links for their full stories.