Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 9 JA N UA R Y 7 , 2 0 1 9 Bagel Café in Camden. At the time, Senders told Mainebiz his contractor was rebuilding the floors and installing new electrical and plumbing systems in the building, which dates to 1950. N O T E W O R T H Y M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T The Rines Thompson Fund, a compo- nent fund of the Maine Community Foundation in Ellsworth, awarded 22 grants totaling $118,732 to support community-based organizations that contribute to the vibrancy of Greater Portland. The foundation's Equity Fund also awarded eight grants totaling $45,592 to nonprofit organizations for projects and capacity-building work that address lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgen- der and queer issues and needs and its Maine Expansion Arts Fund awarded 13 grants totaling $43,000 to support in- digenous, ethnic or rural arts programs or projects, particularly those that serve areas with limited access to arts events. Mathews Brothers growth could create 100 jobs Mathews Brothers Co., a window manufacturer in Belfast, plans an expansion in Hermon that could create 80 to 100 jobs. Expansion plans were announced at Hermon Town Council's Dec. 20 meeting. e company plans to expand into an existing 132,000-square- foot industrial building at 77 Logistics Lane. For the past 18 months, Mathews Brothers has leased space in a ware- house near the Logistics Lane prop- erty. According to a listing with NAI e Dunham Co., the Logistics Lane property maintains 1,305 feet of frontage along the Central Maine & Quebec Railway. It is serviced by two rail spurs and has 10 access doors with a full coverage rail canopy. e original 59,820-square-foot building was built in 1989 and the additional 72,820-square- foot building was added in 2006. e property was listed for $2.75 million. Katahdin region to bolster economic development e Eastern Maine Development Corp. plans to hire its first economic develop- ment director. e position, which will be funded with help from Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and Penobscot County, will be the pri- mary link between businesses, indus- tries, community groups, developers and funders, according to the release. e job will be based in East Millinocket at the Katahdin Higher Education Center. e director will be employed by EMDC and work directly with the Katahdin Region Development Board. N O T E W O R T H Y N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N Hannaford Supermarkets donat- ed $50,000 to the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter to support a warm- ing center for unsheltered people. T he very first issue of Mainebiz, in December 1994, featured a stor y about another company that launched in 1994, Shipyard Brewing Co. in Portland. Founder Fred Forsley gave reporter Shirley Jacks and photographer L. Murray Jamison a tour of the Newbury Street brewery, which was adorned by "a handsome sail- ing ship logo" and was kept in "immaculate" condition. Today, that neighborhood is at the center of a vast redevelopment with condos, restaurants, bank branches and corporate headquarters, including WEX Inc. and Vets First Choice headquarters now under construction. But in 1994 Munjoy Hill was host to idled factories, vacant lots and aging housing. Forsley and Shipyard undertook a massive cleanup to get the brewery site in shape. Shipyard acquired a derelict factory that had once been home to Crosby Laughlin Co. "Basically," Forsley told Mainebiz, "they walked out eight years ago and shut the door." Shipyard's brewery workers cleaned up the site little by little, filling 40 Dumpsters. Forsley said throughout much of the 1980s, landlords sat on dor- mant properties. But by 1994, the city started to encourage business growth. In its first year, Shipyard had 50 employees — and the brewery started to bring some life to the Munjoy Hill neighborhood. The sandwich shop across the street tells me it was ready to close its doors before we moved in. We helped him get through because guys go in there and buy sandwiches. We're hoping to have an effect on the whole neighborhood and the whole city. — Fred Forsley Founder, Shipyard Brewing Co. SP ONSORED BY Hotel development on Rufus Deering site moves forward B y M a i n e b i z S t a f f P O R T L A N D — Reger Dasco Properties sold its fully approved hotel development site at the former Rufus Deering Lumber Co. to developer Norwich Partners LLC. According to a news release by commercial real estate firm Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, which represented the seller, Norwich Partners plans to develop a 155- room Aloft Hotel on the site. Norwich Partners opened the AC Hotel on Portland's East End in July. In 2017, Norwich Partners sold the Residence Inn Portland, at 145 Fore St., to a Virginia real estate investment trust, Apple Hospitality REIT Inc. The site is part of Reger Dasco's overall redevelop- ment at the former Rufus Deering property, which is at 383 Commercial St. Plans call for a 469,153-square- foot mixed-use project called Hobson's Landing that will include 203 residential units, 25,000 square feet of retail space, 155 hotel rooms and 313 parking spaces. The hotel will be part of the first phase of develop- ment and upon completion will operate as an Aloft Hotel. The six-story, 112,439-square-foot building will feature 155 guest rooms, restaurants, meeting space, fitness center, 22 on-site parking spaces and valet parking. Aloft Hotels, a Marriott International brand, opened its first site in 2008. There are now 155 across 20 countries. Norwich Partners, founded in 2003, has a develop- ment office in Sanibel, Fla., and a management office in Lebanon, N.H. It is a developer of and investor in commercial real estate, primarily hotels in the north- eastern U.S. and Florida. Reger Dasco Properties, a development partner- ship that has built high-end condos in Portland and other locations, purchased the 2.5-acre Rufus Deering property in November 2016. Rufus Deering had been in operation for 162 years at that time, and was one of Portland's oldest businesses. While the property was sold off to the developer, Rufus Deering's busi- ness was sold to Eldredge Lumber & Hardware in Portland and York. B R I E F R E N D E R I N G / C O U R T E S Y O F H O L L I DAY F E N O G L I O F OW L E R Rendering of the future hotel at the former Rufus Deering Lumber Co. site. N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N

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