Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I I N O. X M AY 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 12 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 1.25 % Get more out of your savings with the Jumpstart Money Market Account by Kennebec Savings Bank Minimum daily balance of $25,000 required to earn the disclosed Annual Percentage Yield (APY). $100 minimum to open (opening deposit must be new money not currently on deposit with Kennebec Savings Bank or any of its divisions). Your interest rate and APY may change at any time without notice. Rates as of 05/02/2022. A $10 per month fee is charged to accounts whose average daily balance falls below $25,000. Fees could reduce the earnings on this account. An active Kennebec Savings Bank checking account is required. * Call us at (207) 622-5801 or visit us at www.KennebecSavings.Bank to open your account today. Boost the earnings on your money! $150M Houlton factory upgrade LP Building Solutions, with a workforce of 160, has finished a $150 million expansion of its Houlton plant. e build-out, which broke ground in June 2021, converted the facility to manufacture LP's flagship home siding product, LP SmartSide. e expansion converted LP's Houlton facil- ity from production of oriented strand board — a product similar to particle board used for subflooring and sheath- ing — to manufacturing of SmartSide. LP Building Solutions and LP Houlton, which is actually in the neighboring town of New Limerick, are part of Louisiana- Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX), a manufac- turer of engineered wood building prod- ucts headquartered in Nashville, Tenn. 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 North Lighting Concepts opened at 87 State St. in Presque Isle. Thrive Body Spa opened at 73 Sweden St. in Caribou. B I Z M O N E Y $20M program launched to expand affordable rental housing in rural Maine B y J e s s i c a H a l l G ov. Janet Mills and MaineHousing announced a $20 mil- lion program to tackle the housing shortage by expand- ing the availability of affordable rental housing across rural parts of the state. The Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program will provide funding to build affordable rental housing units. Under the program, projects must be between five and 18 units in size and can come from new construction, rehabilitation of existing housing, or reuse of existing buildings into livable spaces for low- and moderate-income households. Funding will be split, with $10 million coming from the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan and $10 million from MaineHousing, the state's housing authority. It will provide forgivable loans at zero interest. Housing units built or rehabilitated by the program will need to be maintained as affordable, as measured based on the area's median household income, for 45 years. "The lack of afford- able housing in rural areas, to buy or to rent, is a real barrier. This program … is meant to tackle that problem and ensure that Maine people will have access to hous- ing they can afford so they can put down roots and contribute to the success of our state," said Mills. "I thank MaineHousing for its partnership on this important project." MaineHousing Director Daniel Brennan said, "This effort is a new and innovative approach, providing meaningful development capital for smaller projects in more rural parts of Maine. The creation of this program is a positive step forward in ensuring equity in affordable housing creation for all parts of Maine." The rural housing program is the latest in a series of measures to deal with the housing crisis. In April, Mills signed two bills to further expand the avail- ability of affordable housing in Maine. The Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan has also invested $50 million for affordable and workforce housing initiatives through MaineHousing. The first, a $10 million program to build up to 150 single-family homes, was announced in January. Funding will be split, with $10 million coming from the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan and $10 million from MaineHousing N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N

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