Mainebiz

V O L . X X I V N O. X I I I J U N E 2 5 , 2 0 1 8 6 from the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee and was unable to meet an initial March 27 deadline set by the Bay State companies. Maine is ninth priciest state for rentals Maine is the country's ninth most expensive rental market, according to a report released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. e Washington, D.C.-based coalition says that Maine renters, who have an average hourly wage of $11.44, need $18.73 an hour to aff ord a two-bed- room apartment, making it the ninth priciest state. Hawaii was found to be the most expensive, with a gap of $19.98 between an average renter's hourly wage and what's needed to aff ord a two-bedroom apartment. Maryland, California, New Jersey and Vermont rounded out the top fi ve, at No. 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively. Nationwide, the average aff ordability gap is $5.22. e 284-page report, enti- tled "Out of Reach: e High Cost of Housing," documents the mismatch between wages and rental housing prices across the United States. Maine Water's parent proceeds with merger Connecticut Water Service Inc., parent company of Maine Water Co., said its proposed merger with California-based SJW Group will proceed after its "go-shop" deadline passed with no new proposals or expressions of interest being sub- mitted. e Clinton, Conn.-based company said in a news release that its 45-day solicitation of proposals for an alternative merger, acquisition or other strategic transaction included reaching out to more than 50 parties, including more than 20 water and regulated utilities and more than 30 fi nancial sponsors, to see if they were interested in exploring a potential transaction with Connecticut Water. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King announced fi ve communities in Maine received a total of $2.35 mil- lion in federal funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to clean up and redevelop brownfi eld sites. The city of Portland, Greater Portland Council of Governments, Maine Department of Economic and Community Development and Southern Maine Planning and 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 Yarmouth train depot sells for the fi rst time since 1968 B y M a i n e b i z S t a f f Y A R M O U T H — The 112-year-old Grand Trunk railroad depot on Main Street will become commercial offi ce space, after Cumberland developer Ford Reiche's proposal beat out 13 others. Maine Preservation announced that the 1906 depot will be sold to Reiche, who has already bought and restored four buildings that are on the National Register of Historic Places. "Reiche has an enthusiasm for revitalizing historic proper- ties and has already rehabilitated Halfway Rock Light Station off the coast of Harpswell and the Charles B. Clark House in Portland, both Maine Preservation Honor Award winners," the Yarmouth-based organization said in a news release. He has also rehabilitated a historic Grand Trunk station in Gilead, which is now Gilead Historical Society headquarters. It was listed at $165,000. The purchase price hasn't been disclosed, because the sale isn't completed. The society had announced in March it had chosen a new owner for the building under its Protect & Sell program, but delayed the announcement until the details were worked out. The depot restoration work will be coordinated by Reiche's son, George Reiche, who is a board member of Greater Portland Landmarks. Reiche co-founded Safe Handling Inc. in 1989, a rail-based shipping and logistics company established to help paper mills and other Maine industries receive bulk shipments of raw materials. In 2008, he was named the U.S. Small Business Administration's "Maine Small Businessperson of the Year" and the Mainebiz "Business Leader of the Year." The depot has been owned by the Yarmouth Village Improvement Society since 1968, when it acquired the prop- erty from the Canadian National Railway to save it from demolition. Since the early 1970s until last year, the build- ing had been leased as a fl orist shop. The group began working with Maine Preservation last year to sell the property to a "preservation-minded buyer." Maine Preservation is "delighted to be working with the Village Improvement Society and Ford Reiche to ensure a dynamic future for this Yarmouth landmark," said real estate manager Sarah Hansen. Linda Grant, president of the Village Improvement Society, said that the group was able to maintain and preserve the building, which she called a focal point of Main Street, and when the decision was made to sell it, it would be "with pres- ervation easements to ensure its future as a unique building." "Maine Preservation has made this possible and we are thrilled that Ford Reiche, who has previously saved historic buildings, will be able to rehab and bring this building back to life on Main Street," Grant said. In March, Hansen said that the goal of the Protect & Sell program is to protect historical buildings, but also have them used actively. "We want the property to be a functional, habitable space, so changes are allowed as long as essential historic fea- tures are not eliminated," she said. "Changes can include the addition of bathrooms, kitchens, additions." The society reviews plans and will help solve any problems that might come up. "We do not want these buildings to be museum-pieces," she said. "We know they need to change over time and fi nd that our involvement helps ensure that the key historic elements of these places endure." The program, which began in 2013, includes buildings in Buckfi eld, Pembroke, Bath and Norway. B R I E F P H O T O / P E T E R VA N A L L E N CMP signs power deal with Mass. utilities Hydro-Québec and Central Maine Power Co. said they had signed an agreement with Massachusetts elec- tric distribution companies to bring hydropower from Quebec to the Bay State via a 145-mile transmis- sion line through Maine. e conclu- sion of contract negotiations with the electric distribution companies represents another major milestone for CMP's $950 million New England Clean Energy Connect 100% hydro- power project, which was selected by Massachusetts in March as the winning bidder of its Clean Energy RFP. CMP's selection came after the original winning bidder, Eversource Energy's $1.6 billion Northern Pass Hydro transmission project in New Hampshire, failed to gain approval The Grand Trunk depot in Yarmouth was bought by developer Ford Reiche as part of Maine Preservation's Protect & Sell program.

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