Mainebiz

V O L . X X I N O. X V I I A U G U S T 1 0 , 2 0 1 5 10 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 Developer eyes Rumford for $150M plant Rumford may eventually be home to a new $150 million "processing plant" from a company with a "track record" of making large investments in Maine, but details are sparse so far. e Sun Journal reported that the unidentifi ed company is reaching fi nal negotiations with the town for the proposed plant, cit- ing an interview with a developer the newspaper didn't identify. State and regional economic develop- ment offi cials also are involved. e plant would be located in the business park behind the Rumford Power Plant. e developer told the newspaper that the plant would create about 20 long-term jobs and 150 construction jobs, and that the company has "a track record of good historical investment in the state of Maine on a large scale." Saddleback cites progress in efforts to replace chairlift Owners of the Saddleback ski resort in Rangeley announced recently that they are making progress in their eff orts to secure the $3 million in fi nancing to purchase a new chairlift that's needed in order to remain open for this winter's ski season. " e economic impact on our staff and the community is not lost on us," said co-owner Mark Berry in an update on the ski resort's eff ort to keep the mountain operational this winter. "We've worked very hard and had several meetings with fi nancial institutions and poten- tial buyers. While I am not able to announce a decision today, I believe we will have a 'yes' or a 'no' answer by [early August] — and that's progress from where we were two weeks ago. " Saddleback, the third-largest ski mountain in Maine and the third-largest employer in Franklin County, had announced on July 20 that its 51-year-old double- chair lift to the top of the mountain is at the end of its useful life and needed to be replaced with a new four-person chairlift. Chinese investors plan $40M specialty hotel in Auburn Chinese fi nanciers unveiled plans to invest up to $40 million to convert an old Auburn factory building into a "state of-the-art health and wellness hotel," the Sun Journal reported. e newspaper said Beijing-based Shengtong Group will redevelop the former Lunn and Sweet Shoe factory into a destina- tion for wealthy Chinese citizens, who would recover at the hotel after receiving medical treatment from Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. "What has happened, according to this investment group, is that a very large segment of the Chinese population, that is now very wealthy and can move anywhere in the world, wants to have their health care provided external to the Chinese system," Auburn Economic Development Director Roland Miller told the newspaper. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N The Denmark Arts Center received a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts Our Town program to support its Something Rotten in Denmark project. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services in Augusta received an $800,000 grant from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment to support substance abuse treat- ment and recovery services for youth aged 12–24. Kents Hill School announced it was the benefi ciary of a $3.5 million matching grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation that will be used to construct a new dining facility on campus. Cony Village LLC in Augusta an- nounced the opening of Patriots Point, a new construction residen- tial community. Hannaford Supermarkets donated $25,000 to Good Shepherd Food- Bank in Auburn for the expansion of its Child Hunger Programs in Maine, including School Pantry and the BackPack Program. Franklin Memorial Hospital Auxiliary donated $18,000 to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington to purchase a podiatry chair, a nonmagnetic wheelchair for MRI patients and a pulse oximeter for the cardiology clinic. John Bapst Memorial High School, Bangor Hope House Health & Living Center, Bangor Freeses Building, Bangor Maine Veterans' Home, Bangor We're not just part of the We're not just part of the Greater Bangor Community… WE BUILT IT! C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N

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