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V O L . X X I N O. X X V I I I D E C E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 5 12 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 some of its branches. Employees of the four branches will be given com- parable positions at other locations, the bank said. In October, Bangor Savings Bank announced plans to invest $10 million in infrastructure improvements in greater Portland, including a new site on Marginal Way. e bank has 57 branches and about 730 employees. N O T E W O R T H Y N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N The Bangor Area Homeless Shelter received a grant of $31,925 from the Grants to Green Maine program to install heat pumps, LED lighting and spray foam insulation. The National Science Foundation awarded the University of Maine in Orono $201,515 in grant funding to support the study of climate change and its effect on birds' migratory patterns and food sources. The university also received a $337,100 grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to support influenza research. HARRIMAN.COM AUBURN PORTLAND MANCHESTER Find us on ARCHITECTURE ENGINEERING SUSTAINABLE DESIGN PLANNING INTERIOR DESIGN Cary Medical Center, Women's Imaging Center © Blind Dog Photography Providing Meals on Wheels and other critical services to more than 12,000 older adults, adults with disabilities, and their caregivers. Supporting independent living and healthy aging. Western Maine's Agency on Aging www.seniorsplus.org • 1-800-427-1241 Hotel developer buys Ocean Gateway Garage and nearby lot Ocean Gateway Garage and a nearby vacant parcel have been sold — eight years after city officials and developers celebrated the garage's groundbreak- ing as the start of a project to trans- form Portland's eastern waterfront. The original project never mate- rialized beyond the garage, but now another plan is in the works to build a hotel and condominiums on the vacant lot, which is across Fore Street from the garage. Portland Norwich Group LLC, a hotel development and investment firm with properties in New England and Florida, bought the six-story Fore Street garage and 1.3-acre parcel between Fore, India, Hancock and Thames streets for $20 million from the investors of the failed development. The firm then sold the garage to 167 Fore Street LLC for $13.1 million. Tom Moulton of NAI The Dunham Group, which brokered both deals, said 167 Fore Street represents one local investor who wasn't involved in any of the previous developments on the site. Both sales closed Nov. 20. The parking garage and the vacant had been owned by Boston-based Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. Portland Norwich Group, a subsidiary of Norwich Partners, which has offices in Lebanon, N.H., and Sanibel, Fla., plans to construct a 150-room AC Hotel by Marriott with 16 condominiums and roughly 4,000 square feet of restaurant and/or retail space. Part of the lot, abutting the Grand Trunk building on India Street, could be used for future development. Greg Mitchell, Portland's economic development director, said the hotel proj- ect fits perfectly with the original vision for the property. "The addition of the hotel and future additional investment on this site really fulfils that longstanding vision for development in that area," Mitchell said. Development in that area is important to the city, Mitchell said, because it serves as a showcase of Portland to people traveling by ferries or cruise ships, entering the city through the Ocean Gateway terminal, Mitchell said. The Planning Board must still hold a public hearing before approving the hotel and mixed-use plan, he said. According to the plan filed with the city, Citizens Bank has agreed to provide a loan of around $30 million to help finance the approximately $46 million project. Two other projects are also under development near Ocean Gateway Garage from one of the original developers of the site, Shipyard Brewing Co. co-founder Fred Forsley. Forsley and Bateman Partners LLC are collaborating on an eight-unit luxury condominium building at 185 Fore St. and a five-floor office building at 16 Middle St. Both will be adjacent to the garage. — P a u l K o e n i g P H O T O / PA U L K O E N I G Ocean Gateway Garage and the nearby 1.3-acre lot was recently sold for $20 million to Portland Norwich Group LLC, which then sold the garage to a different party.

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