FOR GENERATIONS, Sagadahock Real Estate Association has owned much of downtown Bath. Now, it’s selling off its properties, making way for new owners. NATHAN STROUT / THE TIMES RECORD

BATH – The family behind Bath’s Sagadahock Real Estate Association was awarded the 2018 Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr. Preservation Champions by Maine Preservation last week, an honor that recognizes their unique relationship with the city as owners of two-thirds of the downtown.

“I think it’s an honor for my family,” said John G. Morse IV. “My father worked at this and my younger sister worked at this before I came on the scene here, but I think that there were a lot of other people who had parts and pieces in this–people from Sagadahock Preservation who helped my father or goaded him on.”

Morse also directed credit for the recognition to the businesses that make up Bath’s downtown.

“The people who are the retailers that stuck with it and were loyal to their downtown, they’re not making a lot of money and the mom and pop stores spend lots of hours staying open,” he said. “There’s a lot of work that goes into that and these people work just as hard if not harder than whatever we did to maintain the buildings.”

Founded in the late 1800s by brothers William and Oliver Moses, Sagadahock Real Estate Association ended up buying up much of the property in the downtown and then rebuilding it after a fire destroyed much of the city in 1894. The company continued to own much of the downtown until it came under the control of the Morse family, who continued to add to its holdings over the years.

Under the Morse family’s leadership, first John G. Morse, Sr. and then under his daughter Jane Morse, the company used those holdings to control which businesses came to the downtown, curating a series of complementary stores and companies to create a walkable, retail-centered area. Because they had owned the buildings outright for years, the company was also able to keep some rents artificially low, giving small businesses a boost at a time when they face increasing competition from big box stores and e-commerce.

“It was their father that assembled the portfolio, which in some cases includes entire blocks of downtown Bath. Our desire to recognize them was because that’s a rather rare occurrence in our culture today where you have a family held portfolio where you have that number of buildings held for such a long period of time,” said Maine Preservation Field Service Advisor Chris Closs.

“More importantly, these were all historic buildings and they did quite a good job of maintaining them and their respective character,” he added.

The 2018 Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr. Preservation Champions award went to John G. Morse IV, Frances Bowen and, posthumously, Jane Morse.

The honor comes at an unprecedented moment for both the Sagadahock Real Estate Association and Bath’s downtown. After Jane Morse passed away in 2016, her siblings John G. Morse IV and Bowen continued the company’s work, it soon became apparent due to that it was time to let go of their holdings. Age was a primary factor, with 73-year-old Morse unsure how long he could continue doing this.

So starting last year, the company began selling off its many properties. According to Morse, the Sagadahock Real Estate Association has already sold five of its 19 buildings downtown. He expects another to be sold by the end of the year and six more are under contract for next year.

With new owners taking over much of the downtown, it’s unclear what changes will take place in Bath.

“This is the $64,000 question for the future going forward,” said Closs.

Closs said that Bath’s historic preservation ordinance will play an important role in the continuation of the downtown character, but what may be even more important is the retail culture developed by Sagadahock Real Estate Association. That culture is ingrained in many of the downtown’s businesses and fostered by Main Street Bath, an organization dedicated to maintaining and enhancing Bath’s downtown charm.

Morse has also stated that he is not simply selling to the highest bidder. He’s looking for new owners who are dedicated to Bath’s downtown vision and are ready to invest in that community.

Morse said he hopes the award will highlight for new owners how important the character of Bath’s downtown is to the community.

“They have to realize they’re part of a greater community that believes in this process and preserving things,” he said. “They have to realize that they have to work to maintain this in the manner it has been before.”

nstrout@timesrecord.com