hotels
The Longfellow Hotel
Development-In-Progress
754 Congress Street, Portland, ME
longfellowhotel.com
New York-based design firm Post Company and Uncommon Hospitality are currently collaborating on this new and exciting project. Opening in Summer 2023, The Longfellow will be the first independent full-service hotel to open in Portland in 20 years and will deliver a distinctive design and wellness offering to the city. The Longfellow will be a five-story, ground up building located at 754 Congress Street in Portland's historic West End neighborhood. The hotel will offer a residentially inspired and design-forward hospitality concept with a one-of-a-kind, Nordic-inspired wellness offering creating a new destination in Maine for travelers and locals alike.
The Francis
Development + Operations
747 Congress Street, Portland, ME
thefrancismaine.com
The Francis is a 15 room boutique hotel in Portland's Parkside neighborhood. When Uncommon Hospitality bought the property in 2015 the building was an abandoned single-family historic mansion in desperate need of repair. The restoration project turned the historic house, originally built in 1881, into a beautiful 12,000 SF hotel and spa with an on-site restaurant. Our team utilized the historic tax credit program by listing the building on the National Park Service's Registry of Historic Places and worked with Archetype Architects and Wright-Ryan Construction in Portland to create the stunning new hotel. Working with local vendors was an important part of this project and our team handpicked additional local businesses such as Urban Dwellings, Pond Cove Millwork and local artists and photographers to ensure the hotel highlighted its location, history and community in every way possible.
Press:
"At The Francis in Portland, Maine, History Meets Modern Amenities" - Forbes
"Historic Boutique Hotel in a Great Location" - Conde Nast Traveler
"Portland, Maine, is the 2018 Restaurant City of the Year" - Bon Appetit
"What's old is new (but not too new) as the Francis Hotel opens in Portland" - Boston.com
2019 Best Historic Lodging: DownEast Magazine
2019 Best New Hotel: Yankee Magazine
The Admiral's Inn
Operations
95 Main Street, Ogunquit, ME
theadmiralsinn.com
The Admiral's Inn is a charming 61 room property on Main Street in Ogunquit. The property includes two heated swimming pools, two hot tubs, a fitness center, spa services, an outdoor bar and a breakfast restaurant. The four buildings on the property offer options for short & long term stays. The hotel was purchased by Uncommon Hospitality in 2014 and underwent a grounds renovation that expanded the pool area, added a hot tub and created the patio space for an outdoor bar. As part of our management services we worked with the management team to identify opportunities for enhancing revenue, reducing expenses and developing a plan moving forward to focus on maintaining competitive positioning and elevating the status of the hotel.
The Colonial Inn
Development + Operations
145 Shore Road, Ogunquit, ME
thecolonialinn.com
The Colonial Inn comprises 62 bright, comfortable guest rooms across four buildings. The hotel was purchased in 2012 by Joe DeLois and his partners and underwent a massive renovation in 2013. Our team utilized the historic tax credit program to transform The Colonial Inn from the "last resort" in Ogunquit to one of the premier destinations in the beachside community. The renovation project included a reimagining of all guest rooms and common areas in the Main Inn which was originally built in 1890. The deck was extended around the rear of the building, the room sizes were increased by about 50%, bathrooms were upgraded and the entire building was redesigned as a modern beachside retreat.
residential
Bramhall Row
Development
749 Congress Street, Portland, ME
bramhallrow.com
Bramhall Row is a collection of seven townhomes constructed behind The Francis, including two converted carriage houses. Nestled within the block and designed to blend with the nearby historic West End neighborhood, we were proud to create a new group of residences that offer a level of privacy and intimacy with the surrounding area while providing easy access to downtown Portland. Each townhouse comprises some 1,805 SF of handsomely appointed, finished living space, plus the special luxury of a private garage for one or two cars with accompanying flexible storage space. Each Carriage House home has approximately 1,400 SF of living space and a private parking space. All seven townhomes and the two carriage houses constructed as part of Bramhall Row were presold prior to construction.
community projects
The Hay & Peabody Clock
747 Congress Street, Portland, ME
Greater Portland Landmarks named the historic Seth Thomas Company street clock as one of its Places in Peril in 2017, outlining the significance of this Portland treasure as a key contributing element of one of Portland's historic streetscapes. In September 2019, the rusting and decaying clock structure, weighing approximately 1 ton, and measuring 18-feet tall, was lifted off its foundation and temporarily moved offsite. With the input of Portland's Historic Preservation staff, the Uncommon team, the owners of The Francis and a group of area business leaders and residents undertook the year-long process of total restoration.
The group contracted with renowned restoration expert, Jonathan Taggart of Taggart Objects Conservation in Georgetown, Maine, to lead the restoration work, and enlisted horologists from Maine Chapter 89 of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC), to meticulously repair and restore this unique cast iron structure and its complex mechanisms. In October 2020, the clock was welcomed back to its place in front of The Francis and Greater Portland Landmarks announced that "after this amazing restoration, one of our 2017 Places in Peril is now a save!"
Watch the video of the Virtual Celebration Event
Press:
"Historic clock reinstalled in downtown Portland after restoration" - WMTW News 8 Portland
"Historic West End clock restored just in time" - Portland Press Herald
Community Art Project
754 Congress Street, Portland, ME
In July 2020, the Uncommon team partnered with several local businesses and Portland nonprofit Indigo Arts Alliance to create a temporary art installation on the site of the future Longfellow Hotel.
The project created a "place of contemplation, reflection and outrage over the centuries of violence against Black Bodies," said Daniel Minter, co-founder of Indigo Arts Alliance.
Daniel Minter, along with two other Portland-based artists, Ryan Adams and Titi de Baccarat, all contributed to the project with different pieces and a socially distant reception was held in July where the artists explained their work and the audience listened to a live reading of the poem "The Haunted Oak".
The project raised funds for Indigo Arts Alliance, a relatively new nonprofit organization in Portland committed to amplifying the creative voices, vision, and practice of artists of African descent.
Press:
"Former gas station becomes a canvas for artwork fueled by racial reckoning" - Portland Press Herald
"Portland art installation puts 13th Amendment in new perspective" - Portland Phoenix
"'You Can't Look Away:' Public Art Works That Commemorate Black Lives Lost Spring Up In Portland" - Maine Public
Brackett House at Maine Medical Center
325 Brackett Street, Portland, ME
Conveniently located next to Maine Medical Center, Brackett House provides affordable, short stay accommodations for patients and families.
Understanding that many of the individuals staying at Brackett House are going through some of the darkest and scariest times of their lives while their loved one is in hospital, we wanted to help make their stay at the Brackett House as comfortable as possible. In 2017, we donated luxury hotel-quality mattresses and linens for all rooms in the building and continue to work with this great initiative wherever possible.