Maine Made Hospitality: Rural Jobs with Lasting Impact - Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) will use $800,000 in CED funds to support their Maine Made Hospitality: Rural Jobs with a Lasting Impact project by making a loan to the Rangeley Lodge in Franklin County, Maine. The poverty rate of Franklin County is 11.8%, which is 9.3% higher than the statewide average. CEI will use CED funds to provide a loan to Rangeley Lodge, a small inn located in Rangeley, a picturesque town in Franklin County, to create jobs in the hospitality industry while providing hard to find accommodations for tourists to help stimulate the local economy. The loan will provide access to capital to support the renovation and reopening of a recently closed hotel into the Rangeley Lodge. In addition to the loan, CEI will provide ongoing technical assistance and oversight to Rangeley Lodge, supporting the organization and its employees with business development, job advertising, and the delivery of career advancing opportunities. The opening of Rangeley Lodge will create jobs for Maine residents with starting wages 23% above the state minimum wage while offering full benefits and opportunities for promotions and wage increases. CEI will coordinate with workforce development and job creation programs such as Maine Department of Labor (MDOL) to enhance its recruiting efforts by connecting local jobseekers to the jobs at Rangeley Lodge and related small businesses in partnership with local Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) partners, CareerCenter, and Maine Apprenticeship program staff. After hiring, CEI will provide work-ready and skill-based training, transportation, financial wellness coaching, and other wraparound supportive services to new employees. This project will create 29 new jobs, 22 of which will be filled by individuals with low income.
