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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 F E B R UA R Y 7 , 2 0 2 2 BUILDING BUSINESS BY PETER BY PETER VAN ALLEN VAN ALLEN NORTH TO SOUTH, CONSTRUCTION DRUMBEAT CONTINUES AMID WINTER On Bangor's Pickering Square, Benchmark Construction is doing site work for the Bangor Area Transit Center, a $3.45 million site that will allow commuters to get out of the cold. e 2,200–square-foot, single story building will include an indoor waiting area, administrative space, public bathrooms, a bus drivers' room and security office. e exterior of the building includes covered waiting areas, outdoor seat- ing, lighting and accessible passenger loading areas. Benchmark Construction, which is based in Westbrook, will work from plans drawn up by Bangor-based Artifex Architects & Engineers. Funding was provided through grants from the Federal Transit Administration and the Maine Department of Transportation with the city of Bangor and local Community Connector partners providing a 20% match. Prior to this, riders on the Community Connector bus service have used one of the service's idle buses as a win- tertime warming area. Completion is expected by December 2022. OTHER PROJECTS FROM AROUND MAINE On Riverside Street in Westbrook, Atlantic Federal Credit Union's new branch office is now in the site-work phase. e contractor is La Macchia Group, a Milwaukee-based design- build firm that specializes in bank and credit union branches. On its website, it has dozens of examples of credit union branches, with a concentra- tion in Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois but also examples on East and West coasts. e company was founded in 2002 and is led by Ralph and Mary Lou La Macchia. Atlantic FCU says the branch will open this year, with the exact date to be determined. In Madison, GO Lab Inc. held a ceremo- nial groundbreaking at its TimberHP manufacturing facility in Madison. Cianbro is the project manager. e groundbreaking was attended by TimberHP co-founders Matt O'Malia and Josh Henry, as well as Gov. Janet Mills, Madison Town Manager Tim Curtis and Cianbro representatives. TimberHP, which plans to make wood products-based insulation, plans to retrofit the defunct Madison mill. In Portland, Wessex Woods, an afford- able senior housing complex developed by Avesta Housing, is now open. It has 34 affordable units and six at market rate. e contractor was Freeport-based Zachau Construction, based on design by Portland-based CWS Architects. Bangor Savings Bank provided both the con- struction and permanent loans. Other financing came from low-income hous- ing tax credits (Boston Financial), an affordable housing TIF and Housing Trust Fund (city of Portland), an Affordable Housing Program grant (through the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston) and a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (through Maine State Housing Authority). In Topsham, Mahoney Design & Build Inc. is overseeing new construction for a storage facility on Topsham Fair Mall Road. . R E N D E R I N G / A R T I F E X A R C H I T E C T S & E N G I N E E R S Benchmark Construction is the general contractor for the $3.45 million Bangor Area Transit Center in downtown Bangor. HancockLumber.com/Culture "Across America, our industry is filled with incredible companies that provide authentic and sustained value to their employees, industry, and community. So, it's exciting to be recognized as 'ProDealer of the Year' because it means that our employees, customers, and supply partners are combining their talents to create an experience that is nationally recognized as being unique and noteworthy." —Kevin Hancock, CEO "We're proud to recognize Hancock Lumber, a compa- ny well known for its quality, as well as its culture that captures perfectly the spirit of the award. They have an all-in-this-together approach that's not only inspira- tional, it works." —Ken Clark, Editor, HBS Dealer Magazine HANCOCK NAMED 2022 HBSDEALER ProDealer of the Year ENGAGED. EMPOWERED. TEAM HANCOCK. Snow, sleet, high winds, ice and other winter hazards have not slowed the pace of construction in Maine.

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