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BIDDEFORD — Three Portland developers have obtained an option to buy the Riverdam Millyard, a 4-acre industrial complex in the heart of the city's mill district.

The partners — Sam Spencer, Robert Monks and Tim O'Neil — gained the option about two weeks ago and are evaluating the property to see whether they can come up with a workable plan for its development, according to Spencer.

"In the long term, it's inevitable that all these mills will be redeveloped," Spencer said. "We're looking at whether that happens in the next few years or whether we're 10 years too early."

Spencer would not say how much the partners had agreed to pay for the 331,000-square-foot complex, but he said it was close to current owner Steven Sobol's asking price of $1.6 million. Sobol, the fourth owner of the Riverdam Millyard in 12 years, bought the former Pepperell textile mill complex in 2005 for $945,000, with the vision of creating a hub for an array of artists and small manufacturers.

He put the property up for sale earlier this year after struggling to keep up with repairs on the sprawling set of old buildings that the city considered condemning in 2005.

In February, a fire broke out in the mill basement. After an inspection, city officials ordered three tenants to vacate the building for safety reasons and cited Sobol for 13 building code violations. Since then, other tenants have left the millyard, and much of the building is empty.

The Portland developers' interest in the millyard could represent a new wave of entrepreneurs with access to capital and the capacity to undertake large-scale projects becoming involved in bringing the Biddeford mills back to life.

Monks and O'Neil are longtime Portland developers, with interests in numerous real estate ventures in Maine and around the country. Spencer formerly worked as general manager for Saco Island LLC on the company's redevelopment project in Saco. He also is the Maine representative to the Democratic National Committee.

Spencer would not say how long the partners have to decide whether to buy the millyard. If they do go ahead with the project, he said, it probably would consist of a mixture of commercial and residential development. It also might include other properties in addition to the Riverdam, he said.

Spencer said the partners are open to acquiring additional mill buildings if they become available and have been speaking with developer Doug Sanford about working together. Sanford is rehabilitating the North Dam Mill, just downriver from the Riverdam yard.

Biddeford City Manager John Bubier said he has begun recently to see more of this sort of big-picture thinking about the Biddeford mills' future.

Just 18 months ago, Bubier said, he was speaking with many different owners about a variety of small development projects in the city's mill district. More recently, he said, he has been speaking with a smaller number of developers whose plans encompass nearly the entire district except for those buildings still in use as textile factories by WestPoint Stevens.

From the city's perspective, Bubier said, this change could make it easier for the city to work with property owners to facilitate development and come up with a much-needed master plan for the area — a goal he said he'd like to complete in the next six months.

"The idea that we may be dealing with two, three or four different owners is very attractive to us," he said. "Being able to work with fewer people to plan it might be helpful."

At this point, though, Spencer said he and his partners are still evaluating whether they want to become the next owners of the Riverdam Millyard.

"It's a very preliminary phase," he said. "We're seeing if there is a plan that makes sense."

Staff Writer Seth Harkness can be contacted at 282-8225 or at:

sharkness@pressherald.com