Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I N O. X I I J U N E 1 , 2 0 2 0 6 in the process of expanding its physi- cal lab footprint and increasing staffing. e expansion includes the redevelop- ment of the Greenlaw Building, a $28 million project to renovate and expand the building to 46,000 square feet, with completion by December 2022. It's not clear yet whether the funding will change that timetable. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E News Center Maine, seen on WCSH 6 in Portland and WLBZ 2 in Bangor, said it raised $1.3 million to help alleviate food insecurity and to support other services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three Maine community development financial institutions introduced loan products supported by SBA funds in a collaboration to help businesses across Maine gain access to the capital as a result of the COVD-19 Pandemic. Coastal Enterprises Inc. launched the Wicked Reboot Loan; Community Concepts, the COVID-19 Assistance Loan; and Mainestream Finance, the Business Booster Loan. Portland will close streets to help retailers Portland City Council unanimously approved a plan to create more outdoor space for dining and retail business from June to November, and also green-lighted the launch of three emer- gency assistance programs for business. Six streets have been designated to give restaurants and stores additional public space outdoors to serve customers and sell their wares, including on sidewalks, parks and squares, private parking lots and so-called parklets in parking spaces. e areas include part of Cotton Street, Dana Street, Exchange Street (from Fore Street to Middle Street, and Middle to Federal), part of Milk Street (from Exchange to Market, and Silver to Pearl streets) and Wharf Street, according to the plan. Restaurants and retailers in those corridors will be allowed to expand activity into the street to increase capacity while adher- ing to social distancing guidelines. ey are also required to maintain compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. e news comes the Jobless rate soars — but not at national pace Reflecting the brunt of the global health and economic crisis for the first time, Maine's unemployment rate more than tripled in April to 10.6%, the state Department of Labor reported. e number of nonfarm jobs in Maine plummeted by 98,400 during the month, the sharpest loss ever in the month of April, and left the state with 531,700, the lowest total since July 1994. Every economic sector and every region were affected. e unemployment rate, based on data that had not been season- ally adjusted, was lowest in Kennebec County, at 10.1%, and highest in Oxford County, at 14%. Despite its dizzying new height, the unemployment rate for Maine was significantly below the national rate of 14.7% in April. In March, Maine recorded an unemployment rate of 3.2%, the same rate as in February, and the 51st consecutive month in which the rate was below 4%. Job losses were a relatively modest 7,200. But because of when the data was collected, the state's economist said, the March numbers didn't demonstrate the full impact of the pandemic. Maine recorded its first case of COVID-19 on March 12. Grant of $52.7M will address COVID-19 outbreak e state has received $52.7 million in federal grant money that will help expand its lab capacity, including in rural areas, to address the COVID-19 outbreak and other infectious diseases. e money from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is part of the $480 billion package Congress passed to bolster the COVID-19 effort, and included $25 billion for testing. It came after earlier grants totaling $21 million. is round will help increase epidemiological and laboratory capacity to respond to infectious diseases, partic- ularly COVID-19, but also beyond the current pandemic. Maine was already B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E S O U T H E R N A strategic investment for a central Maine business park B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r O a k l a n d — A high-profile property at FirstPark attracted interest from investors around the region and the country. But it was J.B. Brown & Sons, a commercial property management and development company in Portland, that submitted the winning offer of $10.7 million. J.B. Brown bought 133 First Park Drive from Lexington Realty Trust in a deal that closed April 17. Joseph Porta, Charles Day and Mackenzie Simpson of Porta & Co. brokered the transaction using the "call for offers" mechanism, which allowed the seller to review mul- tiple offers submitted by Jan. 23. The property is in the 285-acre FirstPark business park, established in 2000 by the Kennebec Regional Develop- ment Authority. It is a 78,610-square-foot Class A, single-story office building located on 26.2 acres, with ample parking. It's occupied by a T-Mobile customer care center under a triple net lease arrangement, which requires the tenant to pay ongoing expenses such as insurance and maintenance as well as rent and utilities. T-Mobile's current lease term expires Aug. 31, 2027, and includes three 5-year renewal options. The site was built in 2005 for T-Mobile, said Day, who, with Porta and Simpson, represented the seller. Lexington Realty Trust is a national real estate investment trust that is selling its office holdings in order to focus on industrial properties, he explained. The call for offers went out last fall. "We had a lot of interest," he said. "Based on it being a triple net asset and there being a single tenant, it attracted a lot of potential buyers, not just in the region but around the country." The team fielded at least five offers. They had high confi- dence in J.B. Brown, which was comfortable with the tenant as a strong national company, the condition of the asset, the length of the lease and the triple net deal, Day said. The company executed the deal as an exchange under section 1031 of the IRS tax code. The call for offers process is a straightforward way to go live with marketing materials and set a deadline for offers, he explained. "If you have multiple buyers, it helps the seller get a higher sales price," he said. "It's a way for the seller to manage the process. At the same time, historically, we seem to find the best buyer at the best price." Single-tenant, triple net investment deals are something of a rarity in Maine, he added. "It attracted a lot of interest from larger, institutional buyers," he said. For J.B. Brown, he said, the property is a long-term, cash- flow investment. The tenant had renewed its lease about six months before the property went on the market and has invested over $7 million in improvements in recent years. "Nationally, this ranks as one of T-Mobile's best-performing customer care centers," he said. "It's received awards on a national basis for its level of customer service." The center employs almost 1,000 people, he said. "It's a critical piece of the economy in central Maine, and they're good-paying jobs," he said. The interior design includes a middle corridor that splits into wings which, along with the customer care units, also houses a training facility, café and T-Mobile retail store. "It's a very active, engaging environment," he said. B R I E F P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y P O R TA & C O. J.B. Brown & Sons submitted the winning offer of $10.7 million for an Oakland property that houses a T-Mobile customer care center. It is leased through August 2027 with options to renew.

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