A Connecticut developer's promise to transform an old power plant in Wiscasset into a vibrant residential community and upscale waterfront village featuring boutiques, art galleries, microbreweries, restaurants and a marina is finally starting to take shape.
Last month, Prock Marine Co. of Rockland drove enough piles in the Sheepscot River to accommodate up to 25 boat slips at the former Mason Station power plant, the site of the proposed Point East Maritime Village.
Point East spokesman Scott Houldin said last week that he is in negotiations with two companies that are interested in operating the marina. He expects to announce his choice in about a month. Several restaurants also have expressed interest in opening their businesses on Wiscasset's waterfront.
If everything goes as planned, the marina, which eventually will have 239 slips, could open this summer -- evidence that the redevelopment of Mason Station is well on its way.
During the debate last fall on a proposed coal gasification plan at Wiscasset's iPark, opponents questioned whether National RE/sources of Greenwich, Conn., which owns the iPark and Mason Station, was going to be able to develop the maritime village.
Though construction of the marina just started and only two single-family homes have been sold, town officials note that the company was given 10 years to develop the 33-acre property fully.
"The only problem it causes is the rumor mill," town planner Jeffrey Hinderliter said about the house sales. "I have to trust that what Scott promised will be delivered."
In December 2003, National RE/sources acquired Mason Station for $3.9 million. National has a reputation for cleaning up industrial sites and converting them to profitable uses.
After going through a lengthy state and local permitting process, the company began preparing the site for development.
It announced plans to build 80 single-family cottages; 160 condominiums in five mid-rise waterfront buildings; a 200-car underground garage; and a full-service, state of the art marina. A maritime village square, at the head of the dock, would offer fine dining, retail boutiques and art galleries.
Plans hit a bump in the road last summer when the Hinckley Co. announced it had withdrawn as marina operator.
Despite that setback, Houldin said Point East proceeded with its development plans and is in discussions with two companies that he said have a "serious interest" in running the marina.
"This will be a public-accessible marina. It's not going to be a gated community," he said.
Hinderliter, the town planner, said the town had expected that 15 single-family homes would have been built by now and that work on at least one of the condominium structures would have begun. As Houldin said, however, "The real estate market is out of our control, but it did not slow down the investment we made in this project. We are very much on schedule. We said right from the beginning that this would be a seven- to 10-year project."
In the meantime, Houldin said his company will continue to monitor the national political climate regarding coal gasification plants.
Last year, Wiscasset voters rejected a zoning change that would have permitted National to build a gasification plant on land at its iPark.
Houldin, who led the effort to build the plant, did not rule out the possibility of returning to Wiscasset at some future date with a revised plan for a coal gasification plant.
"We continue to be very interested in the technology and the diversification of our country's energy portfolio, especially being able to reduce our country's reliance on foreign oil," he said.
Willy Ritch said the Back River Alliance, which vigorously opposed the Wiscasset gasification project, would spring back into action if Houldin ever were to propose a second project.
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