Mainebiz

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 J U LY 1 0 , 2 0 2 3 C entral Maine is fueling major growth of late. I was in Skowhegan when New Balance announced its plans for a $65 million expansion of the New Balance factory there. Add to that Sappi's plans for reinvestment in its Somerset mill and a new elementary school, and Skowhegan has more than $600 million in new investment underway. Augusta is seeing new investment and Waterville has had similar growth. Waterville's downtown has gotten new life with the Lockwood Hotel, Paul J. Schupf Art Center, downtown housing and other development. More than $200 million has been invested in the downtown. As Senior Writer Laurie Schreiber reports, other growth in Waterville centers around startups. She spent time talking to startups that have gone through the Dirigo Labs program. "Dirigo Labs is providing a valuable service to the Central Maine region — not just from the standpoint of individual businesses looking to accelerate their ventures but as a networking and support system where entre- preneurs, mentors and other interests work together to contribute to the local economy, innovation and job creation," Laurie writes. "e pitch competition at the conclusion of the program helped drive the development of a clear and compelling vision for GTCA's future success," said Michael Greene, CEO of Genotyping of America, which is expanding in Waterville. See Page 16. And Staff Writer Alexis Wells updates us on what's going on with Waterville's downtown rede- velopment, including a new arts center. See Page 20. e list for this issue is Entertainment and Sporting Venues, on Page 26.. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz From the Editor Central Maine has literally hundreds of millions of dollars in investment underway. 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 top business news daily at mainebiz.biz or by signing up for the Daily Report and the Real Estate Insider. Here is the top content from June 19–29 1. Brunswick handbag maker takes storefront lease in Old Port's Boyd block 2. David Stone sells Forager to Canadian acquirer 3. Maine Hospital Association elects Lincoln hospital CEO as next chair 4. Rhode Island company invests $8.4M in Portland affordable housing 5. $3M Grant Building renovation one of largest in Bath's history 6. Hotel group scoops up Saco dorm to help with workforce housing 7. It's a wrap: Maine blankets take the shelves at L.L.Bean 8. A popular retailer returns to midcoast Maine 9. Building the 'candidate pipeline': Maine employers ramp up summer internship programs 10. Southern Maine businessman scoops up marine towing service P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F M A L O N E C O M M E R C I A L B RO K E R S 1 bernsteinshur.com At Bernstein Shur, we invest in our people, empowering them to serve our clients with energy, empathy, precision, innovation, and with an eye to the future. We're attorneys. But we're people first. Joan M. Fortin, Chief Executive Officer Coming in hot: Central Maine

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