The Ambitious Plan to Create a Ski Utopia in Maine

But what if somebody tried to create a ski utopia? And what if they waged their campaign in the hardscrabble hinterlands of western Maine? Arctaris Impact Fund, a Boston investment firm that specializes in shoring up struggling local economies, is doing just that. On January 31, Arctaris spent $6.5 million to purchase a beloved but troubled backwoods ski mountain—Saddleback Maine, which has been shuttered for the past five seasons. Arctaris plans to radically renovate the base lodge this summer. It’ll open the lifts in December and will eventually spend $38 million in hopes of turning Saddleback into a funky and humane nirvana, replete with affordable housing, fair compensation, day care, and bus transport for its workers—and also, yes, crazy-steep trails and a laid-back lodge where the PBR will flow at an amiable people’s price. Click here to learn more

Arctaris Impact Fund To Revitalize Maine’s Saddleback Mountain Ski Resort

Boston-based Arctaris Impact Fund, LP, announced Friday, January 31, the official purchase of Saddleback Mountain Ski Resort for $6.5 million. The firm plans to invest $38 million into Maine’s third-largest ski area and has tapped outdoor marketing agency Origin to lead a rebranding. Click here to learn more

NES Financial to Administer Arctaris Opportunity Zone Funds

Specialty financial administrator NES Financial announced today that it has contracted to provide its purpose-built Opportunity Zone Fund Administration services to Arctaris Impact Investors — a Boston-based impact investment firm focused on creating jobs in small-to-medium operating businesses in manufacturing, renewable energy, telecom, and real estate. Click here to learn more

NES Financial to Host Opportunity Zones Webinar with Howard W. Buffett & Arctaris Impact Fund

Specialty financial administrator NES Financial announced today that it will host its first Opportunity Zones webinar of 2020, Measuring Social Impact in Opportunity Zones, with Howard W. Buffett, professor at Columbia University and president of Global Impact LLC and Jonathan Tower, managing partner, and Benjamin Bornstein, managing director, of Arctaris Impact Investors. Click here to learn more

Arctaris Impact Announces Arctaris Baltimore

February 11, 2020 Arctaris Impact Investors, LLC (Arctaris) announced today the launch of Arctaris Baltimore, a $25 million commitment to invest in Baltimore’s underserved neighborhoods, in partnership with The Abell Foundation and Neighborhood Impact Investment Fund (NIIF). This program will provide private sector investment for growing companies in Baltimore’s most challenged communities to help drive economic prosperity. Click here to learn more

Arctaris Impact Investors aims to bolster financing for area manufacturers

November 24, 2019 Jonathan Tower, managing partner at Arctaris Impact Investors, wants to build a "social impact fund" of up to $50 million to address the needs of Northeast Ohio's undercapitalized manufacturing companies. Tower last Monday, Nov. 18, told members of the council's Development and Planning Committee that Arctaris, a Boston-based investment firm, has pioneered a capital structure that blends public capital from federal and state government agencies with private capital from institutional investors and foundations to provide funds for companies in low-income communities.

Finance Authority of Maine Agrees to Partner With Arctaris Impact to Help Attract Opportunity Zone Capital to Local Investments

July 10, 2020 The Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) has agreed in principle to provide up to $10 million in guarantees to Arctaris under its commercial loan insurance program to support Opportunity Zone investments in Maine. This agreement is expected to anchor $50 million of matching investments from Arctaris into economic and community development projects in Maine by providing additional security for opportunity zone qualified investments made by the Arctaris Principal-Protected Opportunity Zone Fund, LP. Click the linked title to read more about this exciting new partership.

So Far, Real Estate Dominates a Tax Break Meant for Businesses

June 12, 2019 Almost two years after the "opportunity zone" tax break became law, and almost two months after the Trump administration clarified how private equity firms, venture capitalists and other investors can qualify for the tax break, only a handful of people have started funds that focus on operating businesses. “The relative tax benefits are actually better for investing in operating businesses, particularly those with heavy capital assets,” said Jonathan Tower, managing partner at Arctaris, an impact investment fund manager based in Boston. Tower is planning to raise over $500 million for an opportunity zone fund and spend it on up to 25 primarily industrial and manufacturing companies, including some that he’ll shepherd through mergers and acquisitions with other companies. Arctaris’ approach is somewhat unique, however. “Traditional private equity is not used to selecting companies based on their place,” Tower said, “and they probably don’t have as good deal-sourcing relationships in those areas.” The Arctaris opportunity zone fund also includes a $15 million guarantee — from the national Kresge Foundation, which focuses on cities — that will help protect investors if the fund loses money.