NORTHAMPTON — The commercial retail building at 175 Main St., formerly home to the iconic store Faces, has sold to a Vermont property developer for nearly $3 million.

Redstone Commercial Group, of Burlington, Vermont, bought the 33,228-square-foot building June 21 from Main Street LLP of Montague. Two floors of retail space, totaling 23,000 square feet, are now listed for lease.

Main Street LLP consists of Steve Vogel, who founded Faces in 1971, and Janet Gezork, managing general partner at Marketplace Associates L.P. in Northampton.

Redstone is “still finalizing their redevelopment plans, but they are very excited to be part of the fabric of Northampton,” said Mitch Bolotin of Colebrook Realty Services, who represented Main Street LLP in the sale. “From our experience in the market, we believe they’re going to be a great owner and hold a long-term interest in the health of downtown Northampton.”

TD Bank is the building’s only current tenant, leasing about half the space for their downtown branch. There are 34 off-street parking spaces onsite.

Faces first opened as Faces of Earth in Amherst in 1971, and then expanded to Northampton in 1986. The Amherst store closed in 1991, but the Northampton location continued on, adding a second floor in 1994.

Vogel retired in 2009, leaving the business to his son Peter Vogel, who announced in 2015 that the store would close unless a buyer could be found. A group of investors purchased the business and kept Faces running until it suddenly closed for the last time in 2019.

“Redstone is delighted to have the opportunity to acquire a prominent piece of Northampton’s Downtown and become a part of the community,” said Joe Engelken, Redstone’s senior vice president of acquisition and development, in a statement. “We are excited for the coming years and will strive to recreate the sense of destination that Faces once had.”

Redstone acquired the State Theatre Building in downtown Portland, Maine, in 2015, adding retail, office space, art studios and more to the historic space that still functions as a live music venue. The company purchased a 167,154-square-foot industrial building in the same city last year, with plans to lease out space for warehousing, distribution and manufacturing.

The company also owns several commercial properties and an apartment building in Vermont.

Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.]]>