Maine RealEstateRama

Over 280 industry professionals gathered this week to discuss the commercial real estate implications of Maine’s booming food and beverage economy. Maine has become a culinary destination, known for not just lobster, but beer, coffee, organic produce, sea and freshwater products. An exploding foodie culture means a growing need for production facilities, enhanced supply chains, specialty storage and many other real property infrastructure assets, old and new.

U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be awarding the state of Maine $355,930 in funding under the Clean Vessel Act grant program to promote clean water and recreational boating

In advance of Infrastructure Week, the Co-chairs of the Former Governors Caucus, Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), sent a letter calling on their colleagues in the Senate to commit to fully funding national infrastructure and avoid the kinds of short-term fixes that have become routine in recent years. The Senators noted that economists estimate that increasing infrastructure funding by one percent of real GDP would increase economic output over a three year period by $240 billion and add 730,000 jobs in 2015 alone.

U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), along with Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), has introduced bipartisan legislation that would reauthorize a critical tax provision for improving access to affordable housing and spurring private investment in developments that support small businesses and construction jobs nationwide

U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, led a hearing today to examine the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s efforts to prevent and end youth homelessness. The hearing’s witnesses included True Colors Fund Co-Founder and Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award winning artist, Cyndi Lauper

For the fifth year, dozens of family-owned horticulture-related businesses will hold special events to highlight gardening in Maine. Planned activities for the events include giveaways, door prizes, raffles, plants and balloons for children, container-planting demonstrations, personal tours, expert speakers and mini workshops

U.S. Senators Susan Collins, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Angus King announced today that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has granted $300,000 in federal funding for the Dexter Regional Airport in Dexter, Maine.

During a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) underscored the importance of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) in preserving lands across the country for use by future generations and called on the Senate to reauthorize and fully fund the program.

Healthy real estate market conditions led to gains in both March sales and prices for Maine’s single-family existing homes. Maine Listings today reported a 6.5 percent uptick in sales over the past 12 months. Median sales prices (MSP) for those homes increased 4.94 percent to $170,000. The MSP indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less

The arrival of warmer weather marks the start of another busy construction season. As the agency charged with enforcing safe digging practices in Maine, the Maine Public Utilities Commission (“Commission”) is urging all those who dig to take advantage of the resources available in Maine that will help avoid costly and dangerous damage to underground utility facilities.

The 2015 Emerge Film Festival, which opens April 9th in Lewiston/Auburn, will screen over 50 independent films throughout the course of the four-day festival, including more than a dozen Maine- made films.

During a tour of the Maine Veterans Home (MVH) in Bangor this morning, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) called on Congress to maintain funding for construction grants to improve infrastructure at veterans homes across the country. The President’s Fiscal Year 2016 Budget would reduce that funding – which is provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and supports states as they seek to expand care through new or improved facilities – by $10 million dollars, from $90 to $80 million.

Tanya Emery of Hampden, Mike Galeucia of Scarborough, and Rick Harnum of Hampden have been elected to the board of directors of the Maine Real Estate & Development Association (MEREDA), a statewide organization of commercial real estate owners, developers and related service providers

Following an event last month at Mt. Abram Ski Resort in Greenwood to highlight the economic and environmental benefits of biomass, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today fulfilled his pledge to reintroduce the Biomass Thermal Utilization Act of 2015, legislation that incentivizes the development of biomass as an affordable, clean, and home-grown source of energy.

Registration is open for the 2015 Maine Governor's Conference on Tourism to be held this month on March 17 & 18 at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta. Members of the tourism industry and interested stakeholders are encouraged to attend this critical professional development and networking event.