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V I E W P O I N T S W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 F E B R UA R Y 8 , 2 0 2 1 From the Editor B ank branches, warehouse space, multi-story greenhouses, self-storage units, hotels, retail redevelopment, coworking spaces. It's not just home sales that are hot in Maine right now. e demand for commercial space con- tinues to push into new areas. Coworking spaces were on fire before the pan- demic and, even with social distancing, continue to be a viable market as remote workers look for ways to dip their toe back into the office waters. See Maureen Milliken's story, "Coworking at a cross- roads," on Page 12. As Renee Cordes reports, banks are building and opening new branches at a brisk rate, particularly in southern Maine. As bank CEOs tell her, having a physical presence is still important to customers — even if those customers do much of their banking on an app. One of the banks establishing a physi- cal presence in Maine, with at least four branches planned, is Chase. But it will face competition here, as you can read in Renee's story, "Bank expansion heats up," on Page 16. Among the real estate projects underway right now are retail makeovers, "ghost" kitchens, hotels and a four-story vertical greenhouse that expects to grow more than 1 million pounds of produce a year. See "Commercial development in 2021" on Page 20. Self-storage facilities may not be glamorous, but the demand for safe, reliable storage units is grow- ing. And investors like the low overhead and high returns the sites provide, as Laurie Schreiber reports in "e self-storage story," on Page 22. Our list features Maine's largest commercial property sales, on Page 30. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz Featured @ Mainebiz.biz For a daily digest of Maine's top business news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews Get Maine's business news daily at mainebiz.biz and on Twitter (@Mainebiz). Below is our most popular content for the two weeks from Jan. 18–31. 1. Former Portland developer pardoned by Trump 2. Naples inn, originally a 'boarding house for young ladies,' eyed as year- round opportunity 3. Maine's richest 1% rank modestly among the wealthiest Americans 4. Historic Old Port block of buildings sells for $11.7M 5. Waterville manufacturer to hire 50 and expand to 7-day work week 6. Auburn mayor invites construction of 2,000 market-rate homes 7. Building Business: Former doughnut shop on the move in Freeport 8. Portland's new rent control ordinance applies to short-term rentals 9. Does your business have a policy forbid- ding employees to carry guns at work? 10. After outcry from businesses, Mills rethinks tax on PPP loans F I L E P H O T O / M O Z I D O 1 bernsteinshur.com Be valued. BE SHUR. We're lawyers in the business of your success. Maine's real estate juggernaut It's not just home sales that are hot in Maine right now. The demand for commercial space continues to push into new areas.

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