Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 7 S E P T E M B E R 2 , 2 0 2 4 State to study feasibility of adding public med school e University of Maine System said it will work with a national consultant to study the feasibility of launching the state's first public medical school. e consultant's work will consider estab- lishing an M.D.-granting institution in Penobscot County, likely affiliated with the University of Maine. e initia- tive responds to a critical shortage of physicians in rural Maine, according to a news release. e concept has received support from the Maine Hospital Association, the Maine Primary Care Association and Northern Light Health. UMS received state funding last year to undertake the study. e feasibility study and its recommendations are due to the Maine Legislature in November 2025. e study comes as Maine's only medical school — the University of New England's College of Osteopathic Medicine, which began in 1978 — pre- pares to move from Biddeford to a $93 million, newly expanded campus in Portland. e school says the new quar- ters will allow it to increase class size from 165 to 200 students per year, and will help promote an "interprofessional" approach to education. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E Maine Listings reported that a total of 1,482 homes changed hands during the month of July, 10.93% more than the number in July 2023. The median statewide sales price increased 5.07% over the past 12 months to $399,250, though the figure reflected a decline from June, when the median price was an all-time high of $406,000. Falmouth to consider 49-unit housing complex e Falmouth Planning Board will consider a pre-application sketch plan for a 49-unit workforce hous- ing development. e Scittery Woods Workforce Housing Development is proposed to be on roughly 20 acres at 2 Marshall Drive, wedged between Woods Road to the north and the Maine Turnpike's Falmouth Spur to the south. e applicant for the project is Scittery Woods Partners LLC, owned by Andrew Hyland, a principal at Port City Architecture; Kevin O'Rourke, a Yarmouth devel- oper; and John Finegan, who works for Boulos Co. Falmouth is the site of some of the priciest real estate in Cumberland County, which typi- cally has some of the highest prices for single-family homes in the state. e median home price in Falmouth in 2022 was $804,500. But Falmouth's median household income in 2022 was $133,033, enough to afford a home priced at $419,773. Credit union looks to expand in Saco University Credit Union, which is based in Orono, bought a commercial space on U.S. Route 1 in Saco for $1.4 million, according to the broker, Porta & Co. e 2,952-square-foot building, which has a two-lane drive-through, was formerly home of Northeast Credit Union. University Credit Union ranks No. 6 on the list of largest Maine- based credit unions, according to the 2024 Mainebiz Book of Lists, with assets of $476.8 million. With Saco, it will have nine offices statewide. N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N ProsperityME in Portland received a $15,000 grant from KeyBank Foundation to support its mission of empowering members of Maine's refu- gee and immigrant communities through financial education and counseling. Landry/French Construction, the Scarborough-based firm said it acquired MH Williams Construction Group, which is based in Melbourne, Brevard County, southeast of Orlando. The firm, estab- lished in 1987 by Mike Williams Sr., will continue to be led by Mike Williams Jr. and will retain the MH Williams Construction Group name. The elder Williams retired this year. Fire, floods spell end of ice cream stand Gifford's Ice Cream will close one of its oldest ice cream shops, in Farmington, citing ongoing challenges caused by fire and floods last year. e Farmington stand opened at 293 Main St. in 1982, S T A T E W I D E S O U T H E R N C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N

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