Tag: homes

Value of Billionaire’s MDI Estate Grows as Construction Continues on Former Rockefeller Property
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Value of Billionaire’s MDI Estate Grows as Construction Continues on Former Rockefeller Property

Apr 04, 2026 by Kathleen O’Brien/BDN MOUNT DESERT—The value of a billionaire’s compound in an exclusive Mount Desert neighborhood has jumped significantly as renovations on the site continue, hinting at what’s underway at the multimillion-dollar property. Mitchell Rales, a minority owner of the Washington Commanders, bought a nearly 15-acre oceanfront property on Mount Desert’s Cooksey Drive in January 2018 for $19 million. The site, called Ringing … Continue reading Value of Billionaire’s MDI Estate Grows as Construction Continues on Former Rockefeller Property

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Owner of Seal Harbor Mansion Slashes Price by $10M and Still Has Not Found a Buyer
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Owner of Seal Harbor Mansion Slashes Price by $10M and Still Has Not Found a Buyer

Apr 02, 2026 by Kathleen O’Brien of the Bangor Daily News MOUNT DESERT—A multimillion-dollar Mount Desert mansion hasn’t sold in four years despite staggering price cuts that have slashed the cost by nearly half. Built in 1988, the 10-bedroom, 11-bathroom estate is perched on a cliff near the southern tip of Mount Desert Island’s Seal Harbor neighborhood. The sprawling home offers nearly 10,200 square feet of living space and … Continue reading Owner of Seal Harbor Mansion Slashes Price by $10M and Still Has Not Found a Buyer

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Proposed Sand Point Road Subdivision Worries Some Neighbors
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Proposed Sand Point Road Subdivision Worries Some Neighbors

Carrie Jones Sep 12, 2025 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Acadia Shops. BAR HARBOR—The Bar Harbor Planning Board found a housing project by Bar Harbor RV, LLC for seven 1± acre lots off Sand Point Road complete, moved forward with a public hearing and continued that hearing until the board’s October 8 meeting. The project totals 7.5 acres. According to the application, “The … Continue reading Proposed Sand Point Road Subdivision Worries Some Neighbors

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Where Will People Live? Hancock County Population Expected To Grow to 57k by 2030
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Where Will People Live?

Hancock County Population Expected To Grow to 57k by 2030 Carrie Jones Feb 12, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by First National Bank. ELLSWORTH—Where will people live? That’s the complicated question that planners, employers, administrators and people looking for homes are struggling with throughout Maine. With Hancock County’s population expected to grow to almost 57,000 by 2030, while the average household size … Continue reading Where Will People Live?

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Building a Road to Bring More Homes Mount Desert Commits to Ripples Housing Phase 3, Discusses Budget, and Appoints Shelby O'Neil to the Police Force
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Building a Road to Bring More Homes

Mount Desert Commits to Ripples Housing Phase 3, Discusses Budget, and Appoints Shelby O’Neil to the Police Force Carrie Jones Jan 25, 2025 Share MOUNT DESERT—The Ripples Hill neighborhood has been expanding housing in Mount Desert in phases. Now, the Island Housing Trust’s promise to finish a neighborhood in town has received two significant leaps forward. The Island Housing Trust asked the town to provide … Continue reading Building a Road to Bring More Homes

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Town Hill Housing Project Inching Forward Two-thirds of Acadia's workforce can't afford to buy a home within hour of park
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Town Hill Housing Project Inching Forward

Two-thirds of Acadia’s workforce can’t afford to buy a home within hour of park Shaun Farrar Dec 18, 2024 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Window Panes Home and Garden. TOWN HILL—Within the last six months, Acadia National Park (ANP) conducted a survey that showed that two-thirds of its year-round workforce can’t afford to buy a home within an hour’s drive of the … Continue reading Town Hill Housing Project Inching Forward

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Planning Board Approves YWCA'S Hamilton Station 18 Studio Apartments On Their Way Carrie Jones Nov 29, 2024 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Side Street Cafe’s New Year’s Eve Party. BAR HARBOR—It’s a go! The YWCA of MDI’s Hamilton Station project was unanimously considered complete the day before Thanksgiving. It was also considered compliant with the town’s standards. “I think it’s a wonderful project,” Planning Board Vice Chair Ruth Eveland said. “The YWCA has done a phenomenal job in pulling this together.” The approval was met with applause from those attending. Planning Board Chair Millard Dority recused himself because he is helping the YWCA of MDI with the project. The plan for the site off Route 3 calls for 18 one-bedroom (studio) apartments. It has access off Route 3 and calls for dividing a 26.8-acre parcel into two lots. In an email to YWCA supporters on Wednesday, Jackie Davidson, the YWCA’s executive director, said she was “very happy.” The work is meant to begin six months from all conditions of approval being met and be substantially complete 18 months after that. Extensions can be granted. The YWCA hopes to raise $250,000 from 10 donors with gifts of $25,000 each to support the project. According to a Mount Desert Islander article, three donors have come forth with that level donation. “It’s a great project with a lot of hard work from a lot of people to come to this point,” Greg Johnston of G.F. Johnston & Associates said. There was no public comment about the project, which had been inspired by a housing summit organized by the Musson Group, a YWCA representative said Wednesday. “We knew what we wanted to do,” Jackie Davidson, the YWCA’s executive director said at the planning board meeting. What they wanted to do was help increase housing on Mount Desert Island. The YWCA’s Hamilton Station steering committee worked with a team of professionals for months on formulating a plan to meet the overwhelming need for year-round rental housing on Mount Desert Island. “We want to do this right,” said Steering Committee Chair Allie Bodge last June. “One of the most important things to the YW is that an array of community members’ needs are met. Our dream is that the renters have a great sense of neighborhood with community gardens and walking trails that will also be open to the public.” The YWCA of MDI purchased the property in 2023 after looking for an opportunity to be a part of the solution to what many believe to be one of the biggest problems and challenges facing the island: finding homes. “We started thinking small,” said YWCA Board President Ann Worrick. “Originally, we were thinking of purchasing an existing two to three unit building and making it available to year-round people who did not qualify for subsidized housing but who did not earn enough to purchase a home in the escalating market. This group is referred to as the ‘missing middle’ in housing discussions. Suddenly, we had the opportunity to make a much larger and impactful statement with the purchase of Hamilton Station and the Board embraced it and all agreed it was time.” “I have been so impressed by how quickly and well this has come together,” said Planning Board member Teresa Wagner. Conditions of approval included merging a small lot into another lot and a fire marshal approval letter is received. It also requires that the plat shows the easement location for cemetery access and is found acceptable to the Department of Public Works; that a capacity letter from the Public Works Department has been received and all conditions, if any, are met; the Maine Historic Preservation Commission has cleared the project; that the central Subsurface Sewage Disposal design was approved from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services; and a Maine DEP stormwater permit and Maine Drinking Water Program was approved. According to the motion, the “planning board approves the request of modification of standards, allowing for one entrance instead of two as required in section 125-67G(2)(h) because ‘high traffic counts of Route 3 limit the number of allowed entrances onto Route 3 to minimize conflicts with traffic. Two entrances for this development would create unsafe vehicle patterns. For emergency access, a second access does exist on the westerly parcel,’ as it is necessary to address particular site characteristics and it does not have the effect of nullifying the purpose.” LINKS TO LEARN MORE To see the packet To watch From Crisis to Collaboration: From Crisis to Collaboration: Carrie Jones and Shaun Farrar · March 21, 2023 Read full story Getting Closer to Homes at Hamilton Station and JAX Expansion Will Create 95 Jobs Getting Closer to Homes at Hamilton Station and JAX Expansion Will Create 95 Jobs Carrie Jones · Aug 11 Read full story https://www.barharbormaine.gov/DocumentCenter/View/157/zoning_current Bar Harbor Story is mostly a self-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thank you for being here with us and caring about our community, too! Subscribed Thanks for reading Bar Harbor Story ! This post is public so feel free to share it. Share If you’d like to donate to help support us, you can, but no pressure! Just click here. If you’d like to sponsor the Bar Harbor Story, you can! Learn more here.
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Planning Board Approves YWCA’S Hamilton Station

18 Studio Apartments On Their Way Carrie Jones Nov 29, 2024 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Side Street Cafe’s New Year’s Eve Party. BAR HARBOR—It’s a go! The YWCA of MDI’s Hamilton Station project was unanimously considered complete the day before Thanksgiving. It was also considered compliant with the town’s standards. “I think it’s a wonderful project,” Planning Board Vice Chair Ruth … Continue reading Planning Board Approves YWCA’S Hamilton Station

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Where Will People Find Homes? League of Towns tackles home availability
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Where Will People Find Homes?

League of Towns tackles home availability Carrie Jones and Shaun Farrar Oct 19, 2024 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by YES ON 4 For a Balanced Solution. MOUNT DESERT ISLAND—John Bennett, Trenton Selectman and real estate agent, sat at one of three tables full of town officials from across his own town, Ellsworth, and Mount Desert Island and explained something that would be hard to … Continue reading Where Will People Find Homes?

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Acadia National Park and Friends of Acadia celebrate workforce housing. Angus Kind.
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Acadia Cuts The Ribbon for Dane Farm Housing and Announces Expansion of Bar Harbor Housing Project

Carrie Jones Oct 08, 2024 Share SEAL HARBOR—Acadia National Park officials and Friends of Acadia had Senator Angus King on hand as they cut the ribbon on one workforce housing project and announced the expansion of the Harden Farm project in Bar Harbor from 28 units to 56, doubling the project size. The announcement from Acadia National Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider during the Dane Farm … Continue reading Acadia Cuts The Ribbon for Dane Farm Housing and Announces Expansion of Bar Harbor Housing Project

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What's Keeping MDI From Affordable, Available Homes?
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What’s Keeping MDI From Affordable, Available Homes?

Carrie Jones Sep 27, 2024 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by First National Bank. BAR HARBOR—A collaborative report detailing the issue of finding affordable, available homes on Mount Desert Island has hit the internet and it’s saying what a lot of people have been talking about, too: housing issues are complex. Those issues aren’t easy fixes, but that doesn’t mean that trying to … Continue reading What’s Keeping MDI From Affordable, Available Homes?

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