Six Brunswick Landing Businesses to be Honored at MRRA’s Annual Meeting, 12/8/21
The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA) will recognize six of Brunswick Landing’s most innovative businesses at its annual meeting on December 8th.
The awardees include Wild Oats Bakery & Café, Sunbird Aviation, Graiver Homes, VividCloud, Salmonics and Martin’s Point Health Care. MRRA, the master redeveloper of the former Naval Air Station Brunswick since 2008, is honoring these innovative companies for 2020 and 2021 redevelopment investments.
Each year, MRRA recognizes exemplary small business (less than 10 employees), large business (greater than 10 employees) and development companies who have made the decision to invest at Brunswick Landing and the Topsham Commerce Park. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we weren’t able to have our annual awards event last year. We are excited to be able to again recognize some of our most innovative businesses for their hard work and contributions to growing Maine’s innovation economy.
“These are some of the fastest growing and most innovative businesses in Maine and we’re proud that they are part of the growing Brunswick Landing family,” MRRA Executive Director Steve Levesque said. “We’re really pleased to see these cool companies thriving here and we are very appreciative that they have chosen to bring their business investment to Maine’s Center for Innovation.”
Wild Oats Bakery & Café was named the 2020 Innovator of the Year in the large business category. Wild Oats moved from its long-time downtown location into a new 20,000 SF building on Admiral Fitch Avenue. The new facility features a larger commercial kitchen, more retail space, solar panels, an outdoor dining patio, easier accessibility, and more dedicated parking space.
“Wild Oats is so excited to be a part of the Brunswick Landing community and to help bring more exposure to the wonderful businesses here,” said Marshall Shepherd of Wild Oats. “The extra kitchen and retail space has allowed us to employ 80 amazing staff members and to produce more from-scratch food than ever before. We are excited about the new opportunities that the Brunswick Landing community and our new building will create for us going forward.”
Sunbird Aviation is the 2020 Innovator of the Year in the small business category. Sunbird moved its aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations to Brunswick Executive Airport from Biddeford Airport to accommodate its rapid growth. Sunbird started with about 2,000 SF in the middle bay of Hangar 5 and has since tripled its footprint as it attracts more aircraft projects from around New England.
Graiver Homes is the 2020 Developer of the Year. In 2020, Graiver Homes broke ground on a 108-unit apartment project on Captain’s Way, just off Fitch Ave., near the entrance to Brunswick Landing. The company invested more than $15 million to construct nine buildings. Most of the market-rate units (1- and 2-bedroom) were rented out before construction was completed this summer. Graiver has plans for more single-family homes, condos and apartments at Brunswick Landing.
VividCloud is the 2021 Innovator of the Year in the large business category. VividCloud is a high-tech software company that develops advanced Cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) software for enterprise clients. The company formally launched in 2018 as ‘Here Engineering’ and made their first home in TechPlace with just a couple of employees. By fall that same year, VividCloud moved into a larger remodeled office suite in Hangar 6. Almost four years and one name change later, Vivid Cloud has a workforce of over 100. The company now has a 20,000 square foot office building under construction on Admiral Fitch Avenue which “they hope to fill up as fast as possible,” said VividCloud CEO Michael Prevost. Vivid Cloud plans to move operations to the new facility in spring of 2022.
Salmonics is 2021 Innovator of the Year in the small business category. The biotech startup is located at TechPlace. Its products, which are derived from farm-raised Atlantic salmon blood collected during harvest, are used in a variety of research applications in immunology, regenerative medicine, pain studies, cell and tissue culture and more.
“We are very happy to have chosen Brunswick Landing as the location for our new business,” Cem Giray, Ph.D., Salmonics CEO / President said. “The many years of effort dedicated to re-purposing the space and facilities left behind by the US Navy has created an attractive and thriving business environment. TechPlace, the business accelerator building where our company is based, has been very welcoming and generous, and along with the support provided by MRRA provided us the opportunity to swiftly establish our operations and attain our manufacturing goals during our first year. We are very grateful to the staff of TechPlace and MRRA for their support.”
Martin’s Point Health Care is the 2021 Developer of the Year. The Portland-based provider of primary and specialty care, as well as Medicare and TRICARE health plans, celebrated the opening of their new Brunswick Health Care Center on Bath Road. The 54,000 ft., state-of-the-art facility, located on a 6.7-acre site (former SeaBee Compound), consolidates their previous Baribeau Drive and Farley Road practices under one roof. Designed by SMRT Architects and built by PC Construction, the new Health Care Center offers inviting spaces for patients and staff, alike, including a healing garden, community center, rooftop deck, and backyard. Green-design features include solar panels, electric car charging stations, bike storage, and high-efficiency plumbing, electrical, and heating systems. Martin’s Point currently employs over 160 staff at the new Center and is actively hiring new employees in clinical and support roles.
“We’re very excited to have created both a people- and environmentally friendly setting where we can offer a more integrated health care experience for our Brunswick-area patients and providers,” said Dr. David Howes, President and CEO of Martin’s Point Health Care. “Health care needs in the Midcoast region are growing and our new, larger facility provides the space and resources to enable even better service, greater access, and expanded care offerings to our current and new patients from the surrounding area.”
Brunswick Landing now has more than 150 thriving business entities and more than 2,500 people working on the campus, which are two of the key performance metrics MRRA uses to gauge redevelopment milestones. Future growth is expected as more companies expand and locate to the former base properties. In addition, it is estimated that nearly 4,000 people now reside in the former Navy base housing and new housing developments on the properties.
“The ongoing growth in innovative businesses and real estate projects on the former base properties are very exciting. It’s been great to observe the amazing transformation of this property from an old Navy base to a great new place,” Levesque said.
If you’re interested in attending the annual meeting on December 8 to celebrate these terrific innovators, please contact MRRA at 207-798-6512.
