• 630 Forest Ave Portland,ME 04101 • 800.773.4154 • www.phoenixstudio.com • Custom Designs, Restorations and Repairs, Windows, Doors, Lighting, Kitchen and Bath, Fusing, Painting, Sandblasting, and more... Custom art glass for any application. M AY 2 0 1 8 5 5 Downtown and “we’ll probably add another 30 people to our 115-strong Portland team in 2018,” Broder says. “There’s a lot of young tal- ent in Maine.” The tech-savvy employees can enjoy a walking commute to work, “af- fordable condos,” and choice lunch spots– “We’re responsible for the lines outside Mi- cucci’s these days!” Tilson took a gamble on this relatively quiet neighborhood last year, but now they’re in good company. WEX has chosen the corner of Hancock and Thames Street, a former city parking lot, as the downtown site for its new head- quarters. The 100,00-square-foot, five-story space will give 450 of the company’s popu- lation enviable sea views. Sensing oppor- tunity, AC Hotel will open the doors to its swanky 150-room hotel at 158 Fore Street, no doubt hoping to entice visiting business- men and women. Fresh Picks I t’s not all big corporations taking steps this year. A number of startup incuba- tors around the state are giving wings to small-scale entrepreneurial efforts. Co- workHERS launched a glossy female-on- ly workspace at 411 Congress to nurture women-lead businesses and freelancers– not a bad move, considering Maine leads revenue growth among women-owned business, according to the 2018 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report. “What I aim to do is bring a community of wom- en together to help them connect with like-minded women and find their confi- dence, be independent, successful and un- afraid to tackle their dreams and goals,” says founder Heather Ashby. “After tour- ing numerous coworking spaces in Maine and Boston, I realized that they’re quite dude-centric. At CoworkHERS, wom- en not only have a place to work, but they enjoy free coffee, wine, snacks, lockers, high-speed internet, printers and meeting rooms, plus a whole community of amaz- ing women.” On the foodie front, Fork Food Lab on Parris Street was bought out by Brooklyn’s Pilotworks, a nationally leading commer- cial kitchen and business incubator enter- prise. The Maine Center for Entrepreneurs has launched the Cultivator Food, Bever- age & Agriculture Accelerator program. The new start-up food business initiative will nurture its first crop of local entrepre- neurs this year. n