Brian Cookson and Cindy Landry, the new owners of the former Pine Crest Motor Court property, are hoping to revamp the site.
The Pine Crest Motor Court on Rt. 27 made national news last summer when, in sweltering heat, sheriff deputies found an elderly woman abandoned in one of the Pine Crest’s rentable cabins. The woman’s caretakers, Barbara Davis, Nicholas Davis, and Jonathan Stevens, have since been indicted by a Lincoln County Grand Jury with endangering the welfare of a dependent person, a Class C felony.
Today, Edgecomb residents still refer to the Motor Court in relation to that event. According to Cookson, the incident followed years of poor management at the Motor Court.
“It’s been run down for many years,” Cookson said.
Cookson and Landry, both of Nobleboro, plan on changing the place’s reputation.
“We’re going to change the name, the look, and the atmosphere,” Landry said.
Landry and Cookson are planning a small 38 by 30 foot convenience store for the site. A six-foot porch, with chairs and a picnic table will run the full length of the shop. Along with standard convenience store staples, the shop will also have sandwiches and pizza.
The store will be built where the Motor Court’s central building use to be. Cookson tore down the main building when he and Landry purchased the property two months ago.
Along with the convenience store, Cookson and Landry plan on restoring the site’s cottages and renting them out to visitors.
Landry said she plans on renovating the cottages inside and out. The green and white paint currently on the cabins will be replaced with a “Cape Cod gray” exterior and maroon shutters. The inside, according to Landry, will be made to feel “real cozy.” Small fire pits will be placed outside each cabin for visitors to build a campfire.
“It needs so much,” she said. “We’re going to put our heart and soul into this place.”
According to Landry, the couple was searching for a house in Edgecomb when they came upon the property. After looking inside the cabins, the pair decided to refurbish the place.
“We weren’t looking for it, but we found it,” Landry said. “I thought [the cottages] were so cute.”
Though they were initially planning only to refurbish the cottages, Cookson and Landry ultimately decided to build a convenience store after area residents encouraged them to build one. There is currently no convenience store in Edgecomb.
“People were telling us, ‘There’s no place to get a gallon of milk, or a pint of ice cream,'” Landry said. “Everyone wanted a convenience store to buy simple things.”
Cookson and Landry plan to have the site up and running by late spring or early summer. The hardest part, however, still lies ahead: giving their business a name.
“We’re still going back and forth on the name,” Landry said.