A tight market in Greater Portland bodes well for Westbrook.

Despite a slew of vacancies on a stretch of downtown Main Street, Westbrook is being viewed as a city on the verge of a big shift in the real estate market.

With demand increasing for affordable office and retail space in Greater Portland, the once-lagging commercial market in Westbrook is looking up. The market forces, combined with a pro-business mentality pushed by city officials, are producing signs that the shift is taking hold.

Greg Hastings, a broker with the Dunham Group, said the tight market and changes in Portland will bode well for neighboring cities like Westbrook.

“Westbrook and the towns surrounding Portland are getting more interest than Portland because of the latter’s recent stormwater tax and minimum wage changes,” he said this week. “Also, the lengthy building approval process in Portland is hurting that city, too.”

Bill Baker, Westbrook’s assistant city administrator for business and community relations, said there is considerable momentum in Westbrook, and that he’s telling landlords and property owners with vacancies, “Your space isn’t going to last long.”

The movement in Westbrook is highlighted by the news that One Riverfront Plaza, with 135,000 square feet of Class A office space, will soon have a tenant. While an official announcement has yet to be made, city officials have all but confirmed that Maine Medical Center will be moving administrative offices into the building, alleviating a huge hole in the city’s downtown. A hospital spokeswoman confirmed two weeks ago that they are looking at a potenial lease of the building.

The building was also skewing numbers for the city’s vacancy rates, which are reflected in annual market reports produced by area real estate companies such as The Boulos Company, The Dunham Group and Malone Commercial Brokers. Both Boulos and Malone are involved in the One Riverfront Plaza deal.

According to the report from Boulos, the suburban vacancy rate for Class A office space will change by 4 percent when One Riverfront Plaza is filled. It’s currently at about 5 percent. This means that with the new tenant, Westbrook’s overall office vacancy rates will be down from previous years.

However, on the other side of the river along Main Street, there is a considerable amount of buildings in flux, showcasing a stubborn downtown market. In a stretch running from Riverbank Park to the Gorham border at Route 25, there are roughly 10 properties for sale or lease.

Baker said he sees the downtown vacancies as a combination of timing coincidence and the changing needs of potential buyers and renters. Many of the buildings for sale have tenants under lease.

He said potential investors and developers looking for space dictate where they want to go. Along Main Street, there are many older buildings that need renovations or upgrades. Baker said the city has tried to urge property owners to think about their building facades.

The owner of 1 Westbrook Common, James Para, recently completed the installation of large storefront windows on his building, which is seen as more attractive to potential retail businesses along Main Street.

Tucked behind Main Street, along the riverwalk, is an example of growth in downtown Westbrook. A four-story, Class A office building developed by Westbrook business-owner Rob Mitchell is close to officially opening. It also just secured a new, and familiar, tenant to take the top three floors.

Ethos Marketing, now located at 907 Main St., is in the process of moving to the new building. Co-founder Judy Trepal said Tuesday that the company, which has doubled in size since 2011, finally outgrew its 6,000-square-foot space. She said the Ash Street office building was attractive to the company – a new, state-of-the-art space where they can add their own creativity and personality.

When asked if the company had always intended to stay in Westbrook, Trepal said they gambled on Westbrook when they moved here in 2006.

“We don’t believe you need a Portland address to do good work, but you do need a group of talented people, and that’s what we have,” she said. “We were looking for the exact right space for us, and Ash Street is it. We’re excited to move in the next couple of weeks and begin our next chapter as a company.”

The move now opens up 907 Main St., which is for sale. Trepal said the building is a former foundry.

“I see this in full swing,” said Mitchell on Tuesday, discussing the shifting market in Westbrook.

He said he decided to develop the building in downtown Westbrook because of his hope for the river and the rising outside interest in Westbrook.

He said the One Riverfront Plaza announcement and the momentum that Westbrook is seeing will have a ripple effect for him. The one piece of his building that has yet to come together is his hope for a ground-floor cafe. He said that since the rumors began about Maine Medical Center, he’s seen renewed interest in potential tenants.

Abigail Cioffi, the coordinator of the Downtown Westbrook Coalition, said the downtown revitalization effort is looking to formulate a strategic plan. The coalition is planning a “visioning” session, where she hopes to see a wide cross-section of business owners, residents, landlords, and property owners talking about what they would like to see in downtown Westbrook in three to five years.

“That way, the Downtown Westbrook Coalition can really support the endeavors that the whole community wants and have a sensible way to pursue projects,” she said. “Filling commercial real estate is definitely one piece of the puzzle, and I imagine it will definitely come up during the process.”

City Administrator Jerre Bryant said last week that a Westbrook business address has become more attractive than it once was. He said the city has always had a strong industrial sector, but is now competing more often in office and retail.

“We continue to see people who don’t want to pay Portland prices,” he said.

Even in the city’s industrial areas, highly successful businesses such as Idexx Laboratories and Synergent are powerful examples attracting other business.

Hastings, of the Dunham Group, said Westbrook’s industrial market will continue to see growth. According to his firm’s study, the industrial vacancy rate in Westbrook is only 2.3 percent. In Greater Portland, only Scarborough and Saco have lower rates.

“Westbrook has an excellent reputation for being pro-business and the municipal approval process is much swifter,” he said in an email. “I expect that the city will get more than its fair share of the industrial deal activity as a result.”

According to a report from Drew Sigfridson, the managing director of The Boulos Company, retail and industrial vacancy rates in Greater Portland are near 5 percent and the tight market has resulted in higher lease rates.

Baker said Shucks Lobster, based in Richmond, recently saw the high interest in Westbrook’s industrial space first hand. He said the company, which was looking to expand operations, had three potential spaces leased from underneath it before the company moved forward on a lease for a Westbrook facility.

“I would describe it as pretty intense interest and activity in those type of spaces,” Baker said.

There are other signs that the economy in Westbrook is improving. According to recent labor statistics, the unemployment rate in the city has decreased in just a short time period.

As of December 2015, the unemployment rate in Westbrook was 3.2 percent. In the same time period, the state percentage was 3.8, and the national percentage was 4.8.

Westbrook’s rate is down considerably from a high of 5.4 percent just 10 months prior.

“We’re ahead of the curve on both of those key measurements,” Baker said.

A four-story office building on Ash Street adds to the Class A office space in Westbrook, and contrasts with some aging offices along Main Street. Ethos Marketing will take the top three floors of the building, starting March 1.The centerpiece of commercial real estate deals in Westbrook is the 135,000-square-foot One Riverfront Plaza building, the former home of insurance company Disability RMS. A new deal bringing Maine Medical Center administrative offices is seen as a momentum changer for the city.Signs advertising both an Ash Street office building and a Main Street building for lease are visible along Main Street in Westbrook this week. While considerable vacancies are left downtown, the overall market in the city is showing continued growth.