WESTBROOK – A high-profile Westbrook development property will have a new owner soon, and businessman Alexsandar (Sas?a) Cook hopes it will be him and his investment group.

Cook, 34, confirmed Monday that he and Schoodic Capital, a collection of five different family-owned companies, has taken over the $4.8 million mortgage from Bank of America for the 250,000-square-foot property at 90 Bridge St., otherwise known as the Dana Warp Mill. Cook declined to indicate the price for the mortgage. The city has assessed the property at $3.8 million.

Cook said that the property has technically been going through the foreclosure process since September 2010, and must complete that process, which includes an auction of the property, regardless of who takes over the mortgage.

The property, a former spinning mill, has been in receivership since September, when the bank declared the corporate owner of the property, Dana Warp Mill LLC. A Cumberland County Superior Court judge appointed Boulos Property Management of Portland to manage the property until the mortgage was resolved.

Boulos president Morris Fisher said Cook is effectively taking the bank’s place in the foreclosure process. This means, he said, that Cook has the option of striking a deal with Timothy A. Flannery, the principal in Dana Warp Mill LLC, the company that defaulted on the mortgage. If not, Cook would officially run the auction in June.

Like a bank, Cook reserves the right to take over the property outright if no one bids high enough on the property during the auction. The only difference, Fisher said, is that Cook has an interest in taking over the property, where a bank usually does not.

Cook said he and his group hope to step up management of the property. Boulos will continue to act as manager, Cook said, but he and his group intend to contribute to improvements to the property and devise a more streamlined approach to setting future rents. Current renters, he said, “should see a more hands-on management, both from Boulos and myself,” he said.

According to the Maine State’s Office, Secretary of State, Flannery’s company’s registered agent is Portland attorney Leslie Lowry. Lowry referred all inquiries to Flannery, who could not be reached for comment this week.

The former red-brick spinning mill overlooking the Presumpscot River originally opened in 1881. Flannery has owned the property since 1997, and made headlines in recent years as he attracted an eclectic mix of businesses there after renovating the building.

Flannery announced plans in the summer of 2008 to add 66 loft-style residential apartments to the mill building. This week, Cook said he wasn’t ruling out the concept, but the group’s priorities for the property would be to improve the building’s management and attract new businesses. Plans for apartments, he said, are on hold for now.

Cook said he is not from Maine originally, but now lives in the “greater Westbrook area.” He said his family regularly visited the state for more than 100 years, and he visited often before moving here.

Cook is a vice president at Maine Liquid Methane Fuels, LLC, a member company of Schoodic Capital. Cook said the group owns three other buildings in Westbrook. They include 201 Main St., just next door to City Hall, a building that houses various professional financial and medical offices. The group also owns 529 Main St., which houses, among other things, Medeo European Food and Deli; and 650 Main St., which houses Brazier’s Barber Shop.

Cook said Westbrook is an ideal place for business to grow because the municipal government is supportive. In particular, Cook cited services such as police, fire, and public works, which he said in Westbrook are “nothing less than superb.”

He said the move to acquire Dana Warp Mill is an extension of his commitment to developing local business in Westbrook.

“We think it’s got great growth potential,” he said.

Keith Luke, Westbrook director of economic and community development, said he has met with Cook, and looks forward to Cook’s plans for the building.

“I think his vision for the property is harmonious with the city’s plans for the mill to be a business incubator,” Luke said.

Luke said one thing he and Cook both look forward to seeing are more events that promote the mill and its businesses. As an example, Luke cited Photo a Go-Go, an event put on by Bakery Photographic Collective. Every December, the business hosts a multi-day silent auction featuring framed photographic artwork and performances by local bands. Such events, Luke said, are good for the mill, and good for businesses around the mill, which benefit from the extra visitors.

“When we have events like that, the spillover is significant,” Luke said.

Cook said there are approximately 50 tenants in the mill, all small- to medium-sized businesses. Rents have varied over the years, he said, often issued in price per square foot. One thing Cook hopes to change in the future, he said, is to have a more streamlined approach to setting rents for newer tenants.

Cook said he hopes he can attract more renters to the space, and use new and existing renters to help make up the core of Westbrook business.

“We’re looking to attract renters who want to be there for the long term,” he said.

Acorn Productions, a theater education and production group, has called the mill home since September 2006. Michael Levine, the group’s producing director, said he and other tenants received an email recently announcing the change in ownership.

Levine said one thing the new owners have promised to do is add new awnings to the side of the building. Levine said there used to be awnings that served as signage for passing motorists on Bridge Street, but they tore and had to be taken down. Levine said he’d love to see new awnings put back up.

“It’s kind of a drag not to have them out front,” he said.

One tenant that has been at the mill for some time is Mad Gab’s, a company that makes lip balms, body oils, and other personal care products. Owner Gabrielle Melchionda said the company has been there since January 2001, when Flannery still owned the building.

So far, Melchionda said, she has been happy there, and said Flannery was attentive to her needs. When Boulos took over, she said, the positive relationship continued.

“They’ve been very responsive to anything we’ve needed done,” she said.

Now, all she really wants is to see that relationship continue with the new ownership.

“My hopes are that the new owners will build on the work that the previous owners, did,” she said.

The former Dana Warp Mill in Westbrook, now home to around 40 tenant businesses, was placed in default last September. Schoodic Capital, a collection of five different family-owned companies, has now taken over the mortgage, with the aim of purchasing the property. (File photo