Staff Writer 

 From the halls of the Maine Mall to the Mill Creek waterfront, vacant spaces are becoming increasingly hard to miss throughout South Portland – but Ingalls Comercial Brokerage Inc. President Andrew Ingalls isn’t going to let that get him down.

“People are moving again,” he said. “I don’t think we need to stick our heads in the sand because if we do, we’re all out of a job.”

Ingalls said he’s “hopeful” about finding occupants for his four-story building on Waterman Drive despite the state of the global economy. 

“The building is class A in nature,” he said. “Our goal was to get some office space, but the first floor could accommodate a restaurant. Waterman Drive is a very slow street and the surrounding neighborhood would benefit.”

The building has remained vacant since its completion in October, although Ingalls said he has received calls from multiple potential occupants including law firms, engineering companies and medical offices.

“We’ve been talking about possibly having an optometry office, which would be perfect for that kind of location,” he said. “We want to sell [the building] but will lease it to companies who are interested in long term lease agreements.”

100 Waterman Drive isn’t the only building in the city Ingalls is trying to fill; he said he has partnered with Leddy Housers co-owner Paul Leddy to find commercial occupants for the first floor of the Mill Cove Landing on Ocean Street. Leddy said a new Leddy Housers company office will open on the first floor once construction is completed and he had already found occupants for three of the 27 residential units above and behind the remaining retail space.

“We’ve always been very optimistic, especially now,” Leddy said. “We really modeled this project after the Knightville Mill Creek zoning. The neighbors are all very for it. The success of this particular development has a lot to do with their own homes, really.”

South Portland Economic Development Director Erik Carson said he was seeing the city develop economically “in very small ways” recently. With help from state representatives, he said he has convinced at least one branch of a national company – now Sirona Health in the Southborough business park – to keep their ties with the city, saving at least 150 jobs.

“People who are savvy and are willing to take some risks, there are opportunities,” he said. “The challenge now is to make sure they’re good opportunities. Everyone’s trying to keep things moving.”