Mainebiz

V O L . X X I X N O. X X I V O C T O B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 3 6 Mainers' personal income drops Americans' incomes grew this spring in 49 states and the District of Columbia, but not in Maine. While rising nationwide 4.3% dur- ing the second quarter, personal income fell in the Pine Tree State by 2.7%, according to data pub- lished Sept. 29 by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal income consists of net earnings, government benefit payments — known as transfer receipts — and dividends, interest and rent pay- ments that are received. In Maine, personal income totaled $87 billion from April through June, according to the BEA report. at amount was down from $87.6 billion during the first three months of the year. e bureau calculated the percent- ages of personal income change on an annualized, seasonally adjusted basis. e BEA said Maine's decrease resulted primarily from a one-time refundable tax credit, which the state had issued in the first quarter of the year. e amount of transfer receipts then fell in the second quarter by $1.3 billion, which was partially offset by an increase in net earnings of $603 million. Data breach could affect 41,000 Mainers As many as 41,397 Maine residents may have lost personal information to a cyberattack that has hit the country's largest casino and hotel owner, Caesars Entertainment. Names, driver's license num- bers and Social Security numbers were shared with an unauthor- ized user who had acquired a copy of the company's loyalty pro- gram database, Caesars (Nasdaq: CZR) said in a Sept. 7 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. e company, based in Reno and Las Vegas, Nev., noti- fied the office of Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey on Oct. 6. e mandatory state notifica- tion included an estimate of how many Mainers could be affected by the data breach, but it's not clear how many other loyalty program members are at risk. In its filing, Caesars said private data was com- promised "for a significant number of members in the database." On B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E B R I E F P o r t l a n d — As part of its sweeping $100 million plan for expansion, the Portland Museum of Art wants to demolish a building next door that dates to 1830 — and recently housed a museum itself until being purchased by the PMA in 2019. But nine months into the multi-year project, the museum is running into opposition from Greater Portland Landmarks, a historic preservation advocacy group. The PMA has requested that the Por tland Historic Preservation Board reclassify 142 Free St. as a "non-contrib- uting" structure in the Congress Street Historic District, in order to enable development of the new museum building. However, 142 Free St. "clearly meets the criteria for designa- tion as a contributing structure" and Greater Portland Landmarks "finds no basis for reclassification as a non-contributing struc- ture," Carol De Tine, vice president of the group's board of trustees, said in a statement to the preservation board. PMA acquired the building from the Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine in 2019, in a transaction that allowed the Children's Museum to move forward on construction of its new site at Thompson's Point in Portland. The Thompson's Point site was completed and opened in 2021. The property is next door to the museum's Charles Shipman Payson Building at 7 Congress Square. Earlier this year, the museum hired LEVER Architecture, based in Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., to lead the proj- ect its $100 million expansion effort. The firm's proposal calls for a building of mass timber, terracotta and glass, and includes a nod to Maine's Native tribes — the curved roofline is designed to frame the sun as it rises and sets, in honor of Maine's Wabanaki communities and the land they call Wabanakik, or Dawnland. The 142 Free St. building was constructed as a theater in 1830 and six years later became the Free Street Baptist Church. In 1926 it was renovated by Portland architects John Calvin Stevens and John Howard Stevens and later housed the Portland Chamber of Commerce. The Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine had occupied it for 25 years. The building has long been protected as a contributing structure within the Congress Street Historic District. The PMA's application asks the Historic Preservation Board to support reclassifying it as "non-contributing," which would allow for the building's demolition if the Portland City Council agrees to the change. As an institution itself dat- ing back 140 years, the letter says, the PMA stands ready "to create a new landmark for Portland." Razing 142 Free St., the letter says, is critical to the museum's expansion plans. Greater Portland Landmarks, which is an advocacy group, does not have a voting stake in the PMA's plans. Ultimately, it would be the city's decision. PMA expansion runs into roadblock over plans to raze building next door B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r A rendering shows the proposed new building at 142 Free St., at left in the photo above, where the Portland Museum of Art plans to expand. Below, a photo shows the PMA's existing Payson Building in Congress Square. P H O T O / P E T E R VA N A L L E N — R E N D E R I N G / C O U R T E S Y O F L E V E R A R C H I T E C T U R E The building was constructed as a theater in 1830

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