Maine’s Housing Shortage Conundrum     By John Finegan | Associate Broker         Like many states across the country, Maine has a housing crisis. The ripple effects of COVID and the needs of asylum seekers have created an influx of people coming to Maine. Simultaneously, the average number of people per household is shrinking, and this exacerbates … Continue reading Maine’s Housing Shortage Conundrum

In November 2020, Portland passed a significant new referendum for the city. Colloquially known as the “Green New Deal,” the referendum primarily addressed energy efficiency standards on new construction, but also included a change to the inclusionary zoning (IZ) provision that exacerbated the already-strict affordable housing requirements around new development. It has been a year since that referendum went into … Continue reading Multifamily: The Effects of Portland’s Inclusionary Zoning

COVID-19 has had an enormous impact on the way each of us work and live and an attendant effect on the office market. Landlords and tenants have been forced to navigate these uncertainties as best they can. In this article, we note some of the best practices for officing during the pandemic, review the market situation, and look at emerging trends that may guide the year ahead.

Round two of the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) opened on Monday, January 11, 2021. Within the bill is a $284 billion pool to help struggling businesses survive the pandemic. The bill includes temporary alterations to the SBA 504 Loan, a government-backed loan program designed to provide financing to small and medium-sized businesses to promote economic growth and job creation.

Author:  John Finegan, Associate The below was written as a cheat sheet for two referenda that will have an immediate impact on Portland business owners and landlords, Minimum Wage and Rent Control. The goal of this cheat sheet is to give readers a brief synopsis of these referenda and how they function, and present the information in a more palatable … Continue reading Portland Referendum Spotlight: Minimum Wage and Rent Control

The last five months have been challenging for businesses. In the blink of an eye, people stopped traveling, gathering, shopping in brick and mortar stores, meeting friends for a coffee or a beer, skiing, going to yoga classes and reuniting at weddings. These changes have had an impact on each of us, but they also had a big impact on … Continue reading Sale Leaseback