RUMFORD – The River Valley Technology Center board learned Tuesday afternoon that two local office/medical groups are considering a move into the third floor of the technology center.
Now, the tech center must determine the costs needed to install the necessary infrastructure so the potential tenants could move in.
Director Rosie Bradley said the two organizations each need about 5,000 square feet of the 16,000-square-foot floor. Required work includes heat, electricity, plumbing and a finished stairwell. The flooring has already been completed.
While research into costs is being undertaken for the third floor, Bradley said she and Rumford Town Manager Steve Eldridge are preparing to write grants that would make the fourth floor available for River Valley Arts Initiative programs.
The arts program wants to provide a space that could be used for artists’ studios and other art-related activities.
Also on Tuesday, Bradley said the number of new jobs so far created at the tech center is now 12. This includes one new one for Northwest Precision Inc., five at the Maine CareerCenter and six for the various programs working with the Fractionation Development Center, including its newly hired assistant director.
The Fractionation Center is working with potential businesses that could develop chemicals and other products from wood biomass, then manufacture and market them.
The River Valley Technology Center is one of seven similar centers established by the state several years ago. Its original focus was on precision metal manufacturing. Now, a variety of technologies are either established or being pursued.
Because of this change, the board must rewrite its bylaws. That will begin next month.
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