NEW GLOUCESTER – The newest tenant at Pineland office campus is well on its way to settling in.

Energy East, the regional energy service company that owns Central Maine Power Co., has begun screening for its 110 openings. The jobs, which carry an average salary of $65,000, are in the company’s new financial services sector.

“We are moving forward and are on schedule,” said Scott Martin, manager of Energy East’s investors relations. He said the offices should be operational by January of 2004. “In the meantime, we are doing our space planning and staffing analysis.”

Energy East is consolidating the financial services of its six subsidiaries into one operation that will occupy two buildings on the Pineland campus.

The company posted its first two openings – manager of financial accounting and reporting, and manager of energy and derivative accounting – July 3 online and in classified advertisements. The Department of Labor’s Portland CareerCenter is screening applications and forwarding prospects to Energy East’s New York office for further review.

“The response so far has been pretty good,” said CareerCenter’s John Bouchard. “We’ve received 50 or 60 resumes so far and more are coming in every day.”

Work is also progressing on the buildings themselves. Renovations to the buildings’ interiors will begin in the next week or so, according to Drew Sigfridson, broker for C.B. Richard Ellis/The Boulos Co., the property management firm for Pineland. The offices are expected to be ready this fall.

Energy East’s decision to locate in Pineland was announced several weeks ago by the company and Gov. John Baldacci, who applauded the move as a model for the type of business the state hopes to attract and retain. As part of the deal to bring Energy East to Pineland, the state is offering more than $1 million in tax breaks and training incentives.

Customized training for new hires will be offered through the state’s Quality Centers and through the Governor’s Training Initiative program. Combined, the training programs represent a savings of about $264,000 for Energy East, according to Jim Nimon, acting director of the state’s Office of Business Development.

Energy East will also receive about $850,000 in tax breaks over a 10-year period if it maintains the quality jobs as promised. The tax program, called Employment Tax Increment Financing, reimburses a portion of income taxes paid by Energy East to the state. For instance, an employee making $50,000 a year would likely pay about $2,000 in state income taxes. Under this program, the state would reimburse 30 percent of the tax ($666) back to the company.

The state incentives coupled with Pineland’s many amenities sealed the deal, said Sigfridson.

It was a “no-brainer” for Energy East, said Sigfridson, who cited Pineland’s on-site tennis courts, exercise facilities, hiking/biking/skiing trails, and fishing among its many attractions.

“It’s a nice atmosphere for their employees to be there,” said Sigfridson.

“I think the amenities Pineland offers meet the new workers’ interests,” said Nimon. “It’s a real plus for the company.”

In addition to the 110 new jobs, Energy East plans to relocate about 50 workers from Augusta to the New Gloucester campus.

Once the offices open, Pineland will be about 50 percent leased, said Sigfridson. The former school for the mentally ill was closed in 1996 and bought by Libra Foundation, a private, nonprofit foundation that promised to convert it into an innovative mixed use, commercial/residential complex. Out of 262,000 square feet of space, about 140,000 square feet remain unoccupied. He said interest in the remaining space has been strong.

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