South Portland

Knightville is a South Portland neighborhood known for its stores and restaurants. “It’s a very walkable area of the city with all the resources you need,” says Kevin Davis, library director of the South Portland Public Library, who has worked there for about 20 years. “You’ve got the library, the public schools, churches, restaurants, shopping districts, all sorts of stuff.” Residents can enjoy dinner at Taco Trio or visit one of the local stores in the neighborhood, such as Nonesuch Books. Mill Creek Park is only one of the parks in the neighborhood, with open fields and gardens people can walk through. Knightville is served by the South Portland School Department, which receives a B-minus from Niche. Knightville is filled with restaurants and stores. Locals can order a pie to-go from OTTO Pizza, grab a sweet treat from Red’s Dairy Freeze and enjoy Mexican food from Taco Trio, all of which Davis describes as “fixtures in the neighborhood.” People can end their night with drinks at Mast Landing Brewing Company, one of the two brewpubs in the area. Residents can get groceries from Hannaford or Shaw’s and visit the South Portland Farmers’ Market to buy fresh produce and dairy products. It is held on Sunday mornings from mid-May to October, while the winter market is indoors from November to April. Other shops include Nonesuch Books, an independent bookstore, and Bull Moose, which sells vinyl records, CDs and movies. “When we have authors in for author talks, oftentimes either of those businesses will provide the books for the event,” Davis says. Practical retail options include Walmart, Target and Lowe’s, all within 6 miles. With crosswalks at most intersections and sidewalks throughout the neighborhood, it is easy for residents to get around on foot. There is also a bike lane and pedestrian path along the Casco Bay Bridge, letting people travel about 2 miles to downtown Portland and access all the amenities in the city. “I take that walk many times myself during the summer,” Davis says. Locals can also drive themselves, with State Route 77 running through the neighborhood, or take the bus, which stops along Broadway. Portland International Jetport is about 6 miles away, and Maine Medical Center is the closest hospital, about 3 miles away. While known for its shopping district, Knightville also has several parks. “There’s a nice mix of all these amenities, but with the parks, there’s greenspace, so it doesn’t really feel like an overbuilt area,” Davis says. One source of open air is Mill Creek Park, across the street from the library. “That is a beautiful location,” Davis says. Locals can walk along the park’s pond and many gardens or sit and watch the ducks as they swim about. There is also plenty of open space for someone to play with their dogs or set up a picnic blanket and enjoy the afternoon. The pond freezes over in the winter, turning it into an ice-skating rink. At Thomas Knight Park, animal lovers can let their dogs run around off-leash while they walk along the Fore River, and families can bring their children to the playground at Legere Park. Besides offering a scenic walk, Mill Creek Park hosts community events throughout the year, including a summer concert series and the annual tree lighting ceremony. Art in the Park is an art market held every year on the second Saturday of August. Attendees can snack on food from local restaurants and listen to live music while exploring more than 150 artists. “It’s a huge event,” Davis says. With walking paths and sidewalks running along most of the tree-lined streets, it is easy for people to walk from retailers to their residences. Most properties sit towards the front of green lawns decorated with a colorful assortment of bushes and flowers. Early to mid-20th century houses include styles such as American Foursquares, bungalows and farmhouses with wide porches and elegant details, such as bay windows. New traditional homes built in the 1990s and 2000s fill the southeast part of Knightville. Prices typically range from $450,000 to $725,000. There are some condos throughout the neighborhood. These usually cost between $375,000 and $525,000, although some waterfront properties with private docks can cost around $1 million. The Portland-Montreal Pipe Line has an oil tank farm that abuts the residential area, but it seems to have little impact on daily life. As part of the South Portland School Department, students can start at Frank I. Brown Elementary School, which teaches kindergarten through fourth grade and receives a B-minus from Niche. Brown Elementary is part of Maine’s Civil Rights Team Project, where students can help foster conversations about civil rights in their schools. Fifth through eighth grade are taught at South Portland Middle School, which opened in fall 2023. South Portland High School receives a B-minus and boasts a student-teacher ratio of 13 to one.

Don’t let the industrial buildings fool you -- Ligonia is a communal South Portland neighborhood infused with solid starter homes and that trademark Maine politeness. Look a little closer at some of the warehouse structures, and you’ll see that at least one of them is being used in a way that’s very characteristic of greater Portland’s economy.<br><br>This South Portland neighborhood, which includes the triangular crossings of Lincoln Street, Main Street and Broadway, is located right over the Veterans Memorial Bridge from Portland proper. April Cohen, head of The April Cohen Team with Duston Leddy Real Estate and a resident of Ligonia, said that the location is a huge plus for her personally.<br><br>“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would live somewhere that wasn’t Meetinghouse Hill or Willard, but I bought a multi-family over there and lived in it, and I still do,” she said. “It’s seven minutes to Target, seven minutes to downtown Portland and seven minutes to my office on Meetinghouse Hill.” <br><br>Ligonia’s streets are lined with a mixture of old houses and multifamily properties. South Portland as a market has sort of passed the point of affordability, realtor Ann Cianchette said, but Ligonia is a good place for a first home. New, 1,500-square-foot three-bedroom houses cost about $500,000, 90-year-old gambrels will run you about $400,000 and 19th century Cape Cods with bay windows can run around $600,000. The market is not as crazy as it was in 2021, when both buyers and sellers would be overwhelmed with the amount of offers, but it's still moving quickly, Cohen said. It’s not uncommon to have three or four offers on a well-priced property. <br><br>“To see multiple offers still, and homes going over ask is great, but we haven’t seen $100,000 over ask since last spring,” she said. “It’s definitely flattening, but homes that are priced right will still go into multiple offers.” <br><br>The neighborhood is very walkable, with sidewalks all along the main thoroughfare of Broadway. You can walk to Lincoln & Main, a small business in an industrial building that is a combination winery, café and electric bicycle shop. This sort of business is so Portland it almost hurts. In February 2023, Lincoln & Main won the New Business of the Year Award from the South Portland Economic Development Committee, a prestigious honor that recognizes a strong addition to the local business scene. The store also has its own event space, and they make their own vermouth.<br><br>You can walk across the Veterans Memorial Bridge to the West End of Portland from Ligonia, Cohen said. <br><br>“It got redone in the last 10 years,” she said. “It’s a long walk, but you can bike or you can walk.” <br><br>Children can attend schools in the South Portland School Department, which is currently building a brand-new middle school that will combine the two existing ones. It has one high school – South Portland High School – a very spirited community where the boys' basketball team recently won its first state title in 30 years. When they were in the playoffs, Cohen said, the gym was packed with fans.<br>“Everyone supports local sports, that’s what we do,” she said. “But then, we’ve always had a really good marching band too. In high school you could be a theater kid, band kid or athlete, but we all still liked each other.”<br><br>There’s that trademark Maine politeness.

While Cash Corner’s mix of commercial, residential and industrial buildings feels very modern, this South Portland neighborhood dates back to the 19th century. “There were two prominent businessmen in the early 1800s named Cash who had a couple of shops,” says Realtor Chris Davis with Real Broker, LLC, who has worked in the area for about five years. These two men were A.J. Cash and George Washington Cash, who owned stores at the intersection of Broadway and Main, which became the Cash Corner. Those businesses have long since closed, and the area looks very different today. U.S. Route 1 runs along the neighborhood, making it easy for residents to travel to nearby parks, stores and restaurants. Students attend South Portland Public Schools, which earn a B-minus from Niche. Grassy lawns stretch to the roads, decorated with bushes and trees that change with the season. Davis says properties are “laid out fairly close together, which usually bring together a nice, tight-knit community.” A variety of homes make up the neighborhood. New Englanders, a regional style with steep gable roofs and cottage exteriors, and bungalows from the early 1900s sit alongside ranch-style homes and Cape Cods from the 1940s to the 1970s. New traditional houses with colonial influences have popped up in some areas. Prices tend to fall between $350,000 and $625,000. The titular Cash Corner is now home to a Dairy Queen, a surprisingly popular location in the neighborhood. “It’s one of the last Dairy Queens in Maine, and people love that,” Davis says. There are a couple of other restaurants nearby, including the family-owned Caribbean Taste and Modestman Maine, a brewing company with more than 10 original drinks on tap, although people also make the trip to downtown Portland for a night out. Residents can get groceries from Hannaford, which is about 2 miles away, and do the rest of their shopping at Lowe’s, Target and Walmart, all within 4 miles of the neighborhood. Residents of Cash Corner can attend South Portland events, many of which are held at Mill Creek Park, about 2 miles away. These include seasonal events such as the summer concert series and the Annual Arts in the Park, held on the second Saturday of every August. Besides exploring works from more than 150 artists, attendees can enjoy local food and live music. As part of South Portland Public Schools, students can start at James Otis Kaler Elementary School, which receives a C-plus from Niche and teaches kindergarten through fourth grade. Next, they attend the new South Portland Middle School, which opened in fall 2023, before attending South Portland High School, which earns a B-minus and offers clubs such as robotics and French Club. Cash Corner residents are only about 4 miles from Willard Beach, where they can spend the afternoon boating, swimming or soaking in the sun. For some fun a little closer to home, people can visit the South Portland Municipal Golf Course, which is about 1 mile away and offers nine holes. “It costs almost nothing to play, and people love it,” Davis says. “It’s so good for kids; my nephew plays there all the time.” Locals can also visit the community center about 1 mile away, with a full gym and indoor pool across the street from a skate park. Many people drive themselves, although there are several bus stops along Broadway. U.S. Route 1 runs through the neighborhood. This, combined with the industrial buildings that make up the southern part of the neighborhood, can lead to increased traffic and noise levels, but it also has its perks. “You can get to downtown Portland very quickly,” Davis says. “You can also get south on 95 or to our airport.” Portland International Jetport is about 4 miles away, and the closest emergency room is at Maine Medical Center, about a 3-mile drive.

About 3 miles from Downtown Portland, Willard is South Portland’s beach neighborhood. With old homes and a little beach, it’s the kind of residential area where the small side streets are so quiet that residents can safely stroll on them, even if there’s no sidewalk. “It is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in the Greater Portland area. Everybody knows their neighbors, and there are lots of people walking around,” says Jason Bisson, the broker and owner of Cottage & Co. Real Estate as well as a Willard resident who has lived there for 14 years. “It’s very safe. I have three kids and they’re out in the neighborhood riding their bikes and walking around during the day and at night, and that’s not something we ever even have to think about.” A lot of beach towns are seasonal, but according to April Cohen, a South Portland native and head of The April Cohen Team with Duston Leddy Real Estate, about 85% of Willard’s population lives there year-round. The 4-acre Willard Beach is treasured by locals as a great spot to swim, walk, sunbathe, kayak, watch the sunset or relax as ferry boats and lobstermen go by. “I think it’s pretty important for a lot of the people that live here to be able to walk to the beach or walk their dogs on the beach,” Bisson says, adding that although it’s small and isn’t used for surfing, it’s the nicest beach so close to Portland. “I throw my paddleboard in right there at Willard Beach and I can paddle around the Casco Bay Islands. And people have their sailboats moored in the bay right at Willard.” The beach gets especially crowded during the summer, and multiple marinas are within walking distance or a short drive from Willard. On its south side, stairs lead to Fisherman’s Point Park and its view of the Portland Head Lighthouse. Willard also has its own little lighthouse, the Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse, which was built in 1897 and is open year-round, though inaccessible for most disabled people with mobility aids. Just a short drive away is Bug Light Park, home of another small, Greek-style lighthouse built in 1875 with sweeping views of downtown Portland. Its boat ramp and green space make it ideal for boating, saltwater fishing, kite flying and picnics. Willard’s homes often date back to 1950 or earlier and are often bungalows, Cape Cods and American Foursquares that lack the style’s almost trademark dormer in the center of the roof. According to Bisson, the Foursquares can be particularly old, nearing around 100 years of age. “They have a lot of character and people tend to like a lot of the designs,” Bisson says. Homes in Willard start at $400,000 for a small two-bedroom home, but they can climb to around $1 million — especially closer to the water. The median cost of a single-family home in the neighborhood falls at $755,500. Although Bisson says that the housing market in much of Maine has started to slow down, Willard’s traditionally popular market means that it hasn’t slowed — and inventory remains low. “The majority of homes are selling with multiple offers and still over asking,” Bisson says. Willard’s walkability is a major plus for many locals. “You’re walking to Willard Beach, you’re walking to Willard Square, which gets you Scratch Bakery, it gets you ice cream, you can walk to banks and the hardware store,” Bisson says. “In Maine, there’s not too many neighborhoods like that, so think that’s right up there as one of the biggest draws.” Inside a cute little New England home is Scratch Baking Co., a neighborhood bakery beloved by locals. There, they pick up bread and bagels, cookies and seasonal sweets like Guinness brownies around St. Patrick’s Day. Nearby, the seasonal Willard Scoops’ ice cream and hot fudge are both made in-house. Residents head to local restaurants like Elsmere BBQ & Wood Grill for brisket and cornbread and drive a few blocks to the nearby Ferry Village to catch a show at one of its two performing arts theaters as part of a fun night out. Ferry Village Market also offers a few nearby essentials, but otherwise residents make a short drive of just over a mile to Hannaford Supermarket or Shaw’s when they need groceries. Local children can attend Dora L. Small Elementary School, which has an A-minus and is within walking distance of many homes, before moving to South Portland Middle School. Newly constructed and opened in the fall of 2023 to combine the district’s previous two middle schools, it’s too new to have an official Niche rating. From there, they attend South Portland High School, which has a B-minus on Niche and a student-to-teacher ratio of 13 to 1. Southern Maine Community College is just outside the neighborhood. Preble Street winds through the heart of Willard while Cottage Road and Broadway serve as two bigger roads along its edges. There are no major highways in Willard, but residents can cross the Casco Bay Bridge to reach Downtown Portland in about 10 minutes. Maine Medical Center is 3.5 miles away and the Portland International Jetport is just under 7 miles away.

New England homes and local restaurants 3 miles south of downtown Portland

Residents of Pleasantdale are only a couple of miles from everything that South Portland offers. “It has proximity to nature and Portland,” says resident John Slobod, who has lived in the neighborhood for 15 years and owns Circa Guitar. “We are much, much closer to Portland than people who actually live in Portland.” While locals can get to Portland in about 3 miles, they are even closer to stores and restaurants in South Portland, including Taco Trio. The South Portland Greenbelt Pathway connects the area to Bug Light Park, which has a boat launch and hosts an annual car show. Students attend South Portland Public Schools, which receive a B-minus from Niche. Homes rest at the front of grassy lawns decorated with a colorful collection of bushes, gardens and trees, and are within steps of neighborhood sidewalks. “One thing I like is it’s mostly what used to be middle class, or lower-middle class, very modest houses mixed in with a few larger ones,” Slobod says. “It’s not all homogenous.” That mix of homes ranges from Queen Annes and Victorian-era houses with bay windows and mansard roofs from the 19th century, to early 20th-century Foursquares and farmhouses and mid-20th century Cape Cods. Prices can range from $425,000 to $675,000. The residential area borders the CITGO South Portland Terminal and Turner Island shipping service, which can lead to increased noise levels from industrial railways. Pleasantdale neighbors Knightville, South Portland’s retail area with shops such as Nonesuch Books, which sells new and used books, and Bull Moose, an entertainment store with records, CDs and movies. Locals can get a cup of coffee at Cia Cafe and grab dinner from Q Street Diner, which serves breakfast and lunch. Slobod also recommends Taco Trio, which serves traditional Mexican food with fresh salsa, and residents can try one of the restaurants in downtown Portland. Shaw’s and Hannaford are nearby grocery options, and fresh produce is available at the South Portland Farmers’ Market. The market is held outside from mid-May to October and inside from November to April. Home Depot, Walmart and Target are all within 5 miles of the neighborhood. South Portland hosts several events throughout the year, including Art in the Park at Mill Creek Park. “It’s a nice setting, lots of artists with a decent variety of stuff on display,” Slobod says. Mill Creek also hosts a summer concert series, and Bug Light Park is home to the Classic Car Show, with up to 300 cars on display, live music and food trucks. As part of South Portland Public Schools, students can start at James Otis Kaler Elementary School, which receives a C-plus from Niche and teaches kindergarten through fourth grade. They can complete fifth through eighth grade at the recently opened South Portland Middle School, which offers clubs such as Jazz Band, Math Club and Drama Club. South Portland High School earns a B-minus and has a student-teacher ratio of 13 to one. The South Portland Greenbelt Pathway starts in the neighborhood, passing by Yerxa Park, with views of the Fore River and plenty of space for dogs to run around, and ending at Bug Light Park, which is a popular destination about 3 miles away for boating, salt-water fishing and kite flying. At Willard Beach, a 3-mile drive, people can take a dip in Simonton Cove or sunbathe. The Winnick Roads are also about 3 miles away, which has a 1.7-mile trail for hiking and birdwatching. The neighborhood is largely car-dependent with easy access to major roads such as the Casco Bay Bridge, which leads directly into Portland. People can also get around on their bicycles. “I do love that we’re right near the bike path,” says Slobod, emphasizing that it is easy to find a bike-safe road. “I bike into Portland to do things occasionally, I bike to the beach, I bike to Bug Light.” Portland International Jetport is about 5 miles away. The nearest emergency room is about a 3-mile drive, at Maine Medical Center.