Mike Drinan stands outside one of his South Portland apartment buildings. Drinan, who lives in Cape Elizabeth, owns several apartment buildings in Portland and South Portland, and his company manages house, condominium and apartment rentals for other property owners. “This business isn’t for the faint of heart,” he said. “You have to make sure everything […]

Story by Kelley Bouchard/ Staff Writer Photos by Whitney Hayward/ Staff Photographer C hris and Jessie Kessler know just how precious apartments have become in the Mill Creek and Knightville neighborhoods, just across the Fore River from downtown Portland. After living in a Cottage Street rental for four years, the Kesslers received notice in July […]

Story by Kelley Bouchard/ Staff Writer Photos by Whitney Hayward/ Staff Photographer A t first they called him crazy. Now “lucky” is the adjective that Doug Sanford hears most often when people talk about his multimillion-dollar transformation of the former Biddeford and WestPoint Stevens textile mills. Sanford accepts the lucky label because his gamble on […]

South Portland is a prime alternative, and Biddeford and Westbrook also draw interest, pushing up rents and filling new units as fast as they’re built.