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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 JA N UA R Y 2 2 , 2 0 1 8 F O C U S C O M M E R C I A L D E V E LO P M E N T aine's commercial development continues to be led by southern Maine, particularly the greater Portland area. As reported at the annual MEREDA forecast conference, industrial space is in particularly tight supply, with the vacancy rate at 1.25%, according to Justin Lamontagne of NAI The Dunham Group. With demand at historic levels, construction firms are scrambling to fill jobs. As reported elsewhere in the commercial development focus, contractors are using all kinds of techniques to recruit and retain workers. S TA R T I N G O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » M The search for new building technologies B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r ¡ Consigli is exploring a virtual reality system that incorporates 3D building information modeling. Virtual reality allows the crew and clients to "walk through" the model to ensure optimal design. Similarly, Consigli brought in a new system called Matterport, an interactive 3D camera with software that "stitches" images together to create a design walk-through. ¡ At the University of Maine, the Advanced Structures and Composites Center is exploring cross-laminated timber as an engineered wood product optimal for Maine production. CLT is layers of kiln-dried lumber boards stacked in alternating directions, then bonded with non-toxic adhesives. Russell Edgar, senior laboratory operations and wood composites manager at the UMaine lab, says the product shows promise because Maine already produces mass quantities of solid sawn lumber as well as wood composites such as laminated strand lumber. The Maine Mass Timber Commercialization Center, formed in 2017, is working to attract investment in a mass timber manufacturing plant in Maine. The product is considered is competitive with steel and concrete for certain types of buildings. The two central Maine counties continue to offer wide range of commercial property for sale, lease Properties available: 232 Price range: $32,500 to $5.2 million Pending sales: 20 Sold in 2017: 72 Sale prices: $13,500 to $2.1 million Property $500,000+: 54 available, 5 pending, 8 sold C O M M E R C I A L L E A S E S Greater Augusta: 68 leases available, 11 completed in 2017 Lewiston/Auburn: 103 leases available, 16 completed 2017 S O U R C E : KW Commercial, MLS listings INDUSTRIAL SPACE VACANCY RATE IN LOW SINGLE DIGITS ANDROSCOGGIN AND KENNEBEC PROPERTIES TOP OUT AT $5.2M BRUNSWICK'S AVERAGE ASKING PRICE REACHES $1.3 MILLION Industrial space in greater Portland continues to be in short supply, as reported at the annual MEREDA forecast conference. Number of buildings: 566 Total market size: 18.6 million square feet Direct vacancy: 232,873 square feet Vacancy rate: 1.25% S O U R C E : NAI The Dunham Group Industrial Market Survey, New England Commercial Property Exchange (December 2017) As of Dec. 15, 2017, there were 19 active commercial listings in Brunswick. Total asking price: $24.3 million Average asking price: $1.3 million Average asking price/square foot: $104 Retail offerings: 28,000 square feet available, averaging $144/square foot Office space: 80,155 square feet available, averaging $131/square foot S O U R C E : Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority

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