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V O L . X X I V N O. I I I F E B R UA R Y 5 , 2 0 1 8 6 Festival, $2,500 each. In addition, Abbe Museum Indian Market received a spe- cial events grant of $60,000. U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree said four Maine organizations received a total of $1.3 million in USDA Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants to expand learning opportunities and improve health care in rural areas of Maine. Recipients included: Sanford Springvale, $495,541; Isle au Haut, $441,189; MaineHealth, $274,092; and New England Music Camp Association, $132,214. CarMax opens first Maine store CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX), the nation's largest retailer of used cars, opened its first store in Maine, at 415 Maine Mall Road in South Portland. CarMax now has 186 stores across 40 states. e South Portland location has the capacity to stock 200 used vehicles and customers can also request transfers of almost any vehicle from other CarMax locations. Topsham Fair Mall adds professional tenants Reflecting new uses for traditional mall retail spaces, plans are underway for three medical and professional offices to fill the Best Buy and Dollar Tree vacancies at the strip mall at 105 Topsham Fair Mall Road. Developer Nathan Bateman, vice president of Portland-based Bateman Partners, told e Forecaster that the offices are expected to open in June. Allied Cook Construction will handle the renovation. e offices will occupy approximately 40,000 square feet at the mall, which is about 47,000 square feet overall. e shopping center sold in December for $5.14 million. N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N Husson University's Southern Maine campus in Westbrook announced an online certificate in data analytics. This certificate program uses tools from computer science, mathematics, statistics and communication to col- lect, organize and analyze information in order to make informed decisions. The American College of Preventive Medicine awarded a $15,000 grant B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E S O U T H E R N Hyperlite Mountain Gear raises $1.1M in early stage venture capital M a i n e b i z S t a f f B i d d e f o r d — Hyperlite Mountain Gear, the Biddeford- based manufacturer of 100% USA-made ultralight outdoor equipment, announced it has completed a $1.1 million early series round of financing. CEI Ventures co-led the round along with Telluride Venture Fund and Maine Venture Fund. The investment will enable the 50-plus employee company to expand production and R&D capacity and begin introduc- ing automation to its manufacturing facility in Biddeford. "We are thrilled to announce this round of investment to further help us grow," Mike St. Pierre, founder and CEO of Hyperlite Mountain Gear, said in a news release. "We look forward to building on our ability to help outdoor adventurers do more with less as we expand our reach and product offer- ing of high-tech, high-quality, high-performance ultralight gear." With a product line of lightweight, durable and functional backpacks, shelters and accessories, Hyperlite Mountain Gear's base of manufacturing is in Biddeford's historic Pepperell Mill, which was once a national center of textile manufacturing. Hyperlite Mountain Gear's founders said the company's com- mitment to producing there is significant in the rebuilding of the local economy with an innovative 21st century textile product — adding that keeping production in-house enables the com- pany to provide the highest quality product for its consumers. "Hyperlite Mountain Gear's success proves that rural America is home to smart, high-growth companies," said Chandler Jones, principal of CEI Ventures. "We invest in companies that exhibit rapid growth and dynamic transformation that also contribute to building an economy that works for everyone." Hyperlite is an alumnus of the Telluride Venture Accelerator, a program affiliated with the Telluride Venture Fund. While not in Telluride Venture Fund's typical geographic footprint, Hyperlite Mountain Gear fits its investment sector focus of the outdoors. "The company has an impressive management team and solid existing product portfolio," said Kurt Dalton of Telluride Venture Fund and chairman of the board at Hyperlite Mountain Gear. "The co-founders Mike and Dan St. Pierre have been a fantastic one-two punch on the creative and operational side — better than we initially expected. We were ready to support the business regardless of the fact that they weren't basing themselves in our geo-region. Their products are certainly used by many in our geo region. This fundraising round solidifies the company's growth plans for the future." Jayme Okma Lee, investment manager of Maine Venture Fund, characterized Hyperlite Mountain Gear as "an excel- lent example of how impact-focused venture capital funds collaborate to support a well-performing business that is creating jobs and value for its shareholders." B R I E F Dan St. Pierre, left, co-founder and CFO, and Mike St. Pierre, founder and CEO of Hyperlite Mountain Gear, successfully completed a $1.1 million early series round of financing, which was co-led by CEI Ventures, Telluride Venture Fund and Maine Venture Fund. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F H Y P E R L I T E M O U N TA I N G E A R UMaine board endorses plan to raze obsolete buildings e University of Maine System Board of Trustees unanimously approved a preliminary plan to knock down up to 300,000 gross square feet of vacant or obsolete space on its campuses. is represents 3% of the UMaine System's 9 million-square-foot physical plant state- wide. Trustees gave preliminary approval to use $10 million to eliminate 300,000 square feet of underutilized facilities on top of the 250,000 the universities have already removed to reduce costs. Removal of 300,000 square feet of space will save an estimated $2.3 million a year. Nursing enrollment up 11% at Maine's public universities A focused effort to expand nursing education in response to projected health care workforce shortages has expanded nursing enrollment in Maine's public universities by 11% in the last seven years. Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Robert Neely reported to the University of Maine System Board of Trustees that total nursing enrollment has grown from 1,734 in 2010 to 1,920 in fall 2017 across all degree programs. Even with the nursing enrollment increase, Maine faces a nursing workforce cliff that has been projected to hit the state by the middle of the next decade. Home sales at 20-year high Despite tight inventory of single-fam- ily existing homes for sale at the begin- ning of 2017, statewide sales volume for the year ended in positive terri- tory, with a 0.72% increase. According to Maine Listings, the median sales price for homes sold in 2017 reached $200,000, a 5.6% increase in one year — indicating that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less. Statewide sales for December 2017 were up 2.02% while the statewide median sales price increased 9.19% to $202,000 compared to December 2016. N o t e w o r t h y S T A T E W I D E The Maine Office of Tourism awarded 10 grants for a combined total of $132,875 in the most recent Maine Tourism Enterprise Marketing and special event grant cycle. Tourism Enterprise Marketing Grants recipients included: Maine Huts & Trails, Maine International Film Festival, Moose Lottery Festival and Portland Bach Experience $10,000 each; Whoopie Pie Festival, $9,800; Main Street Maine Trail, $9,500; Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce, $8,575; and Bastille Day Castine and Maine Grains Conference and Kneading

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