New housing will be seasonal home to over 80
MAR 29, 2024
BAR HARBOR—One of the town’s first large, shared accommodation buildings in downtown Bar Harbor hosted a ribbon cutting celebration on Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m.
The Witham Family Hotels hope that the building will help address the shortage of affordable workforce housing in Bar Harbor. It is meant to house seasonal employees.
But before the 84 employees move in, before even the ribbon cutting hosting employees and town dignitaries, fifteen VIPs (and some adults) from across the street had their own very important event at the Kebo Street building, an event that featured pizza, a scavenger hunt, stories, and a great deal of coloring.
That’s right. Witham Family Hotels gave Kids’ Corner, the community-based childcare across the street, its very own open-house.
Rachel Crater, director of marketing for Witham Family Hotels said, “They have been watching the building come together from the beginning. With that, we wanted to offer them the opportunity to see the building on the inside.”
“It’s amazing!” one child said, neck craning up as they walked in the drizzle toward the structure.
“It’s three whole levels.”
“Look,” said another one as he followed Director Lori Krupke toward the door. “It’s a sidewalk just for us.”
Three floors. Eighty-four beds. Twenty-three bathrooms with showers. Eight kitchens. Laundry. Blue barrel storage for those who want to ship goods home. And a sidewalk. The kids had a good (and adult supervised) explore of parts of the building. They pressed their palms on the shiny elevator doors, sprawled out on the dining area floor, leaned on beds, marveled at colorful lamps.
“They’ve made themselves at home,” one worker said, smiling.
They had.
The students made themselves at home in a building that’s meant to be a home away from home for seasonal workers from multiple Witham Family Hotel businesses. The shared accommodations building on Kebo Street has been in the works since 2016. The town’s zoning had to be changed to allow that use to exist in certain sections of the town. Shared accommodations (SA) have shared kitchen and common areas but individual bedrooms. There are three categories based on size.
But exist it does.
As Bar Harbor Inn’s Jeremy Dougherty said of the 17,150-square-foot building in a social media post, “It has truly been a labor of love and persistence to see this opening.”
Wright-Ryan Construction and foreman Kevin Foster finished the project six weeks to eight weeks early. Construction began in April 2023. The Planning Board approved the plans in November 2022.
“This project is the first of its kind for Bar Harbor, underscoring the company’s commitment to its employees and the local community amidst the challenges posed by the current housing market,” the company’s press release reads.
HOW A SEASONAL HOUSING BUILDING CAN HELP YEAR-ROUND FAMILIES, TOO
David Witham, managing partner and CEO of Witham Family Hotels, has said that his company hopes to look at its housing stock and see what can be converted into year-round opportunities for people.
This project has already allowed three families the opportunity to make Bar Harbor their home, moving into housing that was previously used for seasonal employees. This includes nine new students learning in Bar Harbor schools, more volunteers at area non-profits, and new community members invested in Bar Harbor being a great place to live and work, Crater said.
Jermel McWhorter and his family are a perfect example. The family moved into a long-term rental home offered to him with Witham Family Hotels this winter. This home was previously occupied by seasonal employees but is well suited for a family to live in year-round.
“Living in Bar Harbor just minutes away from work is a dream come true. I joined The Bar Harbor Inn in 2019 and have been commuting since then, falling in love with the staff and property,” McWhorter said. “Commuting from Carmel takes roughly an hour and a half each way due to road conditions, limiting time with my family. My wife understands my dedication to work, never making it an issue, and I cherish the days off spent with my family. Being closer now allows me more quality time with my wife and three children, which is invaluable. Previously, work schedules and their sleep schedule kept me away from seeing my kids for days, but now I have extra time in the morning and evening with them. This time is crucial for their development, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be closer to my family on this beautiful island.”
A recent report shows that Bar Harbor likely needs 616 homes in the next ten years. Approximately 85% of those homes will be apartments. Planning Director Michele Gagnon said Thursday night at a Comprehensive Planning listening session that affordable housing, starter homes, and homes for middle-income families are especially needed. Projects like the YWCA’s Hamilton Station (expected to bring 50 apartments) and the town’s parcel in Town Hill as well as seasonal housing hope to help inch the town toward that goal.
When it comes to how this project has impacted them, the Eloi family has a similar story to the McWhorters’.
Mr. Eloi said, “Mr. David Witham, I’ve never seen a person like that. He tries to help you in any situation, but for me, I’m excited to live and work for the company. I just love it. My family is here. There is a good school, good teachers, and the best place for someone to live.”
“Witham Family Hotels is both excited and thankful to open the doors of this new housing facility today so that we can share with the public and our incoming team members,” Witham said. “It was almost eight years ago to the day that we wrote a letter to the town acknowledging the issues caused by seasonal housing and the impact this was having on our neighborhoods. We knew we were indeed part of these challenges and expressed that we genuinely wanted to be part of the solution. To get to this point today it took an incredible amount of effort and commitment from the town and its residents. We especially want to thank the tireless efforts of the town’s Planning Department, Planning Board, and Town Council. Lastly, we would like to offer our sincere appreciation to Geoff Fraser for his architectural vision to create this beautiful building that we are immensely proud of along with Wright-Ryan Construction for proving to be excellent partners in its construction.”
Fraser was full of praise for Witham as well.
“He really cares about the people who work here,” he said enthusiastically. Care can extend into action that impacts a community.
Crater said, “When my husband’s work moved us to the area, we started looking for a place to call home. In my search for work, Witham Family Hotels not only offered me a role that allowed me to spend more time focused on my young children, but also offered us housing. They provided a lovely place to live with affordable rent, which eventually led us to purchase our home.”
Her children go to school here now. Her husband is a per-diem member of the Bar Harbor Fire Department. She’s a member of the Bar Harbor Chamber. Like the McWhorters and Elois, they’re a part of the community.
The opportunities for housing meant a lot for Crater who led the Kids’ Corner students on an early morning scavenger hunt through the building’s second floor. Her enthusiasm as she opened the door to welcome community members in from the rain later on was palpable.
According to a press release, “Witham Family Hotels (WFH) is honored to be able to grow and invest in their community. WFH worked on two Maine-based firms on this project: Wright-Ryan Construction and Fraser Architects. The project was funded by Machias Savings Bank.”
AT THE RIBBON CUTTING
Members of Bar Harbor’s staff, workers from Witham Family Hotels, and members of the community congregated for the ribbon cutting Thursday afternoon as the rain poured down from gloomy skies.
Alan Sparn, chief operating officer of Wright-Ryan, the project’s Construction Manager, shared, “Our team is proud to serve Witham Family Hotels, and to collaborate with project partners including Fraser Associates Architects, on the construction of these new staff residences which are a model example for addressing the significant housing needs in Bar Harbor and across our state. By leveraging advanced framing techniques – including prefabricated wall, floor, and roof systems and a cross-laminated timber (CLT) elevator shaft – our team is delivering this project under budget and well ahead of schedule by roughly six weeks. For forty years, Wright-Ryan has thrived by maintaining a signature focus on innovation, sustainability, and enduring partnerships, and we are well positioned to continue building for generations to come throughout Downeast Maine and northern New England.”
Witham Family Hotels’ Housing Coordinator Phelecia Allen beamed as she cut the ribbon to cheers. The ambiance mirrored the words of one of the Kids’ Corner children earlier that morning who said while climbing the stairs to the second floor, even before the hard hats and the pizza and the scavenger hunt, “This place is super special to me.”
KIDS’ CORNER VISIT
“Safety first,” Witham said Thursday morning as he passed out small yellow construction hats to the kids who ranged in age from 18 months to five years. The kids arranged cozy blankets on the floor of the dining area, explored some structures, found a dump truck during a construction-themed scavenger hunt, checked out the bedrooms, bathrooms, and fridge before flopping on the floor and coloring.
“Is this a party or what?” one student called out.
“Wow,” said a little girl. “This is so cutie. Look at this!” She then tucked her mini construction hat under the cozy blanket, putting it to bed, gave a grownup a pebble, and found a good yellow crayon to color with.
“Let’s get cozy in here,” she announced.
A teacher reminded them to not color on the actual brand-new floor.
“It’s OK,” Witham called out. “I’m not worried about the crayons.”
The floor, he said, was pretty indestructible. So, was the spirit of the kids as they hung out in a place that they’d watched grow piece by piece from foundation to roof.
Krupke said that since construction began, the children had lined up at the Kids’ Corner fence whenever they could and watched. They knew the sound of the construction and if a bang seemed different? They’d run over and check it out. They watched the old building come down, the new one go up, and even saw the Bar Harbor Fire Department do some training there.
“To be able to watch it from demolition to building and then to come here and be treated to this?” Krupke said, smiling. “It’s special.”
Photos by Shaun Farrar and Carrie Jones/Bar Harbor Story
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Disclosure: For a very short time, Carrie Jones was the co-chair of the Kids’ Corner board.
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