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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 2 8 , 2 0 2 5 We're attorneys. But we're people first. Meet Asha. A licensed professional engineer turned attorney with 20 years of construction industry experience, Asha is an authority in the industry, focusing on litigation and contract negotiations for complex building and energy clients. bernsteinshur.com Asha Echeverria Shareholder From the Editor P ortland has been at the heart of a debate over the fate of its downtown. Store vacancies, declining office occupancy and an increase in vagrancy and crime have put the once-pro- perous neighborhood in the crosshairs. e Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce has urged the city to address the issue and, as Deputy Editor Renee Cordes reports in our cover story, the number of vacancies is growing, with Renys moving out by year's end, at the same time the city, nonprof- its and the business community are grappling with a humane response to homelessness and people facing addiction. Her story starts on Page 12. Elsewhere in the issue, Senior Writer Laurie Schreiber talks to some builders who are using modular construction to reduce the cost of housing and speed the construction timeline. Her story starts on Page 18. An increasing number of builders are adapting mass-timber into construction projects. Mass-timber buildings are aesthetically pleasing and often cheaper and faster to build. e issue for the Pine Tree State — with its abundance of forest products — is that mass- timber products are not something that can be locally sourced. While some production capability is being developed in the U.S., many mass-timber products come from Austria and other countries. Tina Fischer has more on the topic, on Page 24. A modest proposal for downtown Portland e debate over how to revive the Congress Street corridor in Portland will not be settled overnight. But I have a modest proposal. Let's acknowledge, first, that the pandemic work- from-home trends mean there are fewer office workers around Monument Square and along Congress Street. at's combined with the shift over the past decade of more office space being developed on Portland's East End — in effect, shifting the office market. en you take the fact that there are two major arts-related developments in the works: Portland Museum of Art plans a $100 million expansion, while a proposal is in the early stages to develop a performing arts center near City Hall. ese two projects would create bookends of a sort for the Arts District. At the heart of the district is the Maine College of Art & Design, with surrounding attrac- tions like the State eatre, Merrill Auditorium, One Longfellow Square and Portland Stage Co. What about going all in on the Arts District theme? Space is already renting at a discount, so a start would be turning empty storefronts into galleries. Upper floors could be marketed to artists who are struggling to pay high rents in New York, L.A. and other cities. e Renys space would be ideal for an art-supply store such as Blick Art Materials, Utrecht or Jerry's Artarama (or as expanded space for the existing Art Mart). With the office market shifting and the apparent reluctance to develop market-rate housing down- town, inviting more artists into the neighborhood could be a win-win. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz Featured @ Mainebiz.biz For a daily digest of Maine's top business news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews Mainebiz offers the latest business news in the Daily Report and the Real Estate Insider newsletters. Here is the top content from July 1–22. 1. Made in Maine: The side hustle that became a dream 2. Stephen Smith to step down as L.L.Bean CEO 3. Portland waterfront restaurant set to reopen with new crew and fresh look 4. Dollar store or bust? Renys Portland store hits the market, fueling speculation about next occupant 5. Portland's proposed commercial vacancy ordinance gets pushback in City Hall meeting 6. With Boothbay Harbor deal, Maine-based hospitality firm builds its portfolio 7. New Patriot Acura dealership in Scarborough built on relationships — and persistence 8. Lights, camera, expansion for Portland media company 9. Showdown looms over Portland City Council vote on music venue moratorium 10. Portland law firm snags bankruptcy team from cross-town rival P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY 1 With the office market shifting and the apparent reluctance to develop market-rate housing downtown, inviting more artists into downtown Portland could be a win-win. Digging into what's needed

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