Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I N O. X I I I J U N E 1 5 , 2 0 2 0 8 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N Readiness Associates, a consulting firm in Portland that acts as a full- service business continuity and emer- gency preparedness partner, acquired Continuity Dynamics Inc., a business continuity planning and consulting company in Basking Ridge, N.J. Hospice of Southern Maine in Scarborough said it has partnered with Granite State College in Concord, N.H., to offer its employees the opportunity to pursue higher education courses. Maine Behavioral Healthcare in Westbrook broke ground on a 28,000 square-foot treatment, training and research facility located on the grounds of Spring Harbor Hospital. The $14.7 million facility is being built to meet the growing needs of Maine families and individuals with a diagnosis of autism and other developmental disorders. The Maine Women's Fund in Falmouth said it raised $53,000 through its rapid response Safety First for Women Fund, created to meet the urgent needs of women and girls across the state. Another roadblock for CMP corridor proposal e ongoing battle to determine whether Central Maine Power Co. will be able to build a planned $1 billion, 145-mile electricity transmis- sion line through western Maine has entered another skirmish. A group of opponents requested that the state Department of Environmental Protection stay its May 11 approval of land use permits for the New England Clean Energy Connect proj- ect. e DEP accepted applications for the project in October 2017, and gave conditional approval in March pending public comment. e depart- ment's OK is necessary before con- struction can begin on the corridor, which would enter the state in Beattie Township, in Franklin County on the Quebec border, and run to a new con- verter station in Lewiston. e oppo- sition group, Say No to NECEC, has also successfully petitioned the state to create a November referendum that would rescind approval of the project by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, which is also necessary. e stay request asks the DEP to delay its approval until the referen- dum takes place and other appeals on approval order are resolved. Over a dozen Maine communities, businesses and residents signed the request. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N MaineHousing moved its offices to 26 Edison Drive in Augusta. MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta was awarded a total of $133,000 to address food insecu- rity and other social needs in the Kennebec Valley. The grants include $98,000 from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, $25,000 from the John T. Gorman Foundation and $10,000 from the Maine Cancer Foundation. Judge issues pre-trial attachment in RICO case U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker issued a $1.4 million pre- trial attachment against defendants of a racketeering lawsuit brought by Lobster 207, a Trenton lobster whole- sale co-op owned by members of the Maine Lobstering Union. Lobster 207 last December filed suit against its former CEO, Warren B. Pettegrow of Trenton, over allegations of rack- eteering. Also named as defendants were Pettegrow's company, Poseidon Charters Inc., Anthony D. and Josette G. Pettegrow of Trenton and their company Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound Inc., and Stephen M. Peabody of Addison. In his June 3 decision, Walker said the order of attach- ment was appropriate in the case with respect to Anthony Pettegrow, Josette Pettegrow, Warren Pettegrow, Poseidon Charters Inc. and the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound Inc. e sum repre- sented most of the schemes alleged by Lobster 207. e suit claims the defendants systematically embezzled funds, submitted fraudulent invoices, up-charged for lobster products and competed with the wholesale lobster business that they had sold to Lobster 207. In a news release, the co-op said those actions, from 2017 to 2019, vio- lated the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law and also constituted fraud, breach of con- tract and other charges. Abbott Labs will take over space in former Olympia Sports distribution site B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r W e s t b r o o k — A Boston real estate investor bought a 126,072-square-foot industrial building in Westbrook for $8.75 million, $250,000 above asking price, and immediately found a tenant when Abbott Laboratories leased the entire build- ing as part of an expansion to ramp up production of its rapid test for COVID-19. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) is based in Chicago and has a production facility in Scarborough. The 5 Bradley Drive lease was one of two transactions Abbott completed as part of its expansion. Abbott leased another 68,818 square feet and 16 acres at 7 Manson Libby Road in Scarborough. Calare Properties Inc. bought 5 Bradley Drive in Westbrook from Maine Olympia Properties LLC in a deal that closed May 7. Jim Harnden of Harnden Commercial Brokers and John Meador of the Boulos Co. brokered the deal. The property sits on 14.72 acres and has approvals in place for an expansion of approximately 80,000 square feet. It was uilt in 1998 for Bindley Western Industries, a wholesale distributor of pharmaceuticals that was subsequently acquired by Cardinal Health. The industrial market is tight and Calare realized the value of the property, said Meador, who represented the buyer. The building had some of the only vacant space in the southern Maine's indus- trial market, which consists of 19 million square feet with approximately 500,000 square feet of industrial demand at the time of the sale. It is Calare's first acquisition in Maine, said Meador. Calare was founded in 2003 and is focused on acquiring and managing warehouse, manufacturing, research and flex/office assets, primarily in the Northeast. Calare has led the acquisition of over 18.5 million square feet of properties, representing $850 million in real estate transactions through funds, direct deals and a multi-asset portfolio. "Even during due diligence, there were multiple [parties] interested in leasing the entire facility," Meador said. "Calare was looking for a tenant that valued clear height, location and loading dock ratio, and was seeking a high-end warehouse in Maine." Greg Boulos and Samantha Marinko of the Boulos Co. handled leasing arrangements for Abbott. The property was previously occupied by Olympia Sports, a Maine-based sporting goods retailer that was acquired by JackRabbit, a Denver-based sports retailer, last October. Olympia bought the Westbrook property in 2004 and added two stories of 7,500 square feet each as office space inside the warehouse. In the mid-2000s, Harnden said, Olympia received city approvals to add 80,000 square feet of more warehouse space but never built it. B R I E F P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y H A R N D E N C O M M E R C I A L B RO K E R S There were multiple [parties] interested in leasing the entire facility. — John Meador Boulos Co. Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories, which is based in , which is based in Chicago and has a site in Scarborough, Chicago and has a site in Scarborough, leased leased 5 Bradley Drive 5 Bradley Drive in Westbrook for in Westbrook for space to increase production of its rapid space to increase production of its rapid test for COVID-19. test for COVID-19. M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N

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