Landvest Camden Office
Finally, after a long wet spring, summer weather has arrived and Camden Harbor is active with the schooners and day-sailors beginning their voyages, yachts being rigged and the SUPs and kayakers making their appearance. The Shada was launched in early May and I was glad to have an enclosed and heated pilot house for the early trips out to North Haven and Islesboro.
In Camden, we had an interesting winter and spring market. I would characterize it as sporadic yet steady activity. A burst of activity would be followed by silence and then another burst of activity. We were fortunate to convert a number of inquiries into showings leading to pending sales and completed transactions.
Given the ongoing imbalance in the market characterized by plentiful supply and less than robust demand, we have been very pleased that LandVest’s marketing program and our consistent work are producing solid results in the upper end.We have accounted for four of the six deals in Knox County, one in Hancock County and the lone deal in Waldo County (Dark Harbor, Islesboro).
Our most exciting ongoing transaction this year is the American Boathouse in Camden where we are representing the buyer. Last week the town voted to amend the zoning ordinance to allow additional uses for the structure and made it possible for the buyer to proceed with her plans for a complete renovation of this historic structure. Built in 1904, the boathouse is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, private saltwater boathouse in the country and it will remain on the national Register of Historic Places.
Restoration plans call for stabilizing the structure while it is lifted and a new foundation installed. An internal steel frame will then be constructed to hold the original wood frame building which will be revitalized with a new exterior shell to duplicate the original. Bear in mind that the main portion of the boathouse is 172 feet long, 42 feet wide and built on an incline to follow the angle of the marine railway which will also be rejuvenated and remain operational.
This very complex restoration project has taken hours of commitment and would not be moving forward without the expertise of many Maine professionals: Stephenmohr, Mohr and Seredin Landscape Architects, Jay Fischer, Cold Mountain Builders, Albert Putnam, Albert Putnam Associates Structural Engineers, Gary Neville, Prock Marine, Rendle Jones, Harmon, Jones and Sanford and many others. Behind the project is the energy and vision of Cynthia Reed who was inspired to save this irreplaceable part of town history bordering historic Harbor Park designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead Jr.
As always, please let us know if we can be of assistance.
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For more information on exceptional Maine coastal properties,
contact Terry Sortwell or Joe Sortwell in our Camden office.
*For information on our banner image, Leadbetter Narrows, please click here.
