New capital fund targets aerospace giants
Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority
Steve Levesque, executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority in Brunswick, testified in support of LD 1480.
The recent establishment of a new capital fund is just what Maine needs to attract aerospace giants like Boeing or Airbus to set up shop in the state, according to Steve Levesque, executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority.
As reported by Mainebiz in January, Levesque testified in support of LD 1480, a bill submitted by Sen. Stanley Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, that would create a $50 million capital fund providing Maine with additional financial pull when faced with competition from states like Michigan, New Mexico, Texas and California, which have similar capital programs.
The bill, which successfully made it through both houses of the Legislature and is now law, is only available to companies that create or retain 250 jobs that pay 125% of the state’s median wage, or roughly $20 per hour.
Taxpayers also wouldn't be liable if a development or business should fail. Instead, the Maine Capital Fund would operate as a mutual fund for business investments that would be capitalized by pension funds, institutional endowments and other types of investment instruments.
The fund also differs from other economic development funds in how it’s financed. Instead of being backed by bonds with the “full faith and credit” of the state, it would be capitalized by larger businesses, like Boeing, that have their own bonding authority, according to the Portland Press Herald.
"The Maine Capital Fund will essentially be a type of mutual fund for Maine company investments that will be capitalized by pension funds, institutional endowments, insurance companies and other types of investment instruments," Levesque stated in written testimony he submitted to the Legislature's Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee in January.
Levesque has already talked with both Boeing and Airbus officials, trying to get the aerospace giants to join Brunswick Landing’s roster of aviation companies, which includes Williamsburg, Va.-based Tempus Jets and Minneapolis-based MVP Aero.
Levesque touted Maine’s underused aviation resources that include runways, hangar space and industrial power supplies as a big draw for the companies.
“Aviation businesses are one area where we can gain market share,” Levesque told the Press Herald.
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