The construction of the Newcastle Harbor House, the office building/condominium project at 75 Main St., will resume next week, the developer said Sept. 27.
Mattson Development President Kevin Mattson said his company is in talks with a potential tenant for a first floor office space.
The negotiations with the tenant, which Mattson described as a well-known, existing Damariscotta business, have led the developer to consider design changes.
The changes affect the placement of an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system, Mattson said.
Mattson acknowledged the importance of completing the exterior soon. Whatever happens with the tenant, “next week, you’ll see a resumption,” he said. “We really need to get it done by winter.”
Mattson’s statements followed expressions of concern by Newcastle officials regarding the lack of activity at the site.
The Newcastle Board of Selectmen, at a Sept. 26 meeting, questioned Mattson Development Chief Operating Officer Bob Martin about the status of the project.
“The project has been, to put it kindly, slow-moving, and to see it slow down again is disturbing,” Newcastle Selectman Pat Hudson said.
Martin attempted to allay the town’s concerns, while offering few details.
“We are actually ahead of the schedule that we adopted,” Martin said.
In April Mattson told The Lincoln County News the company planned to complete the exterior in 4-6 months or possibly as little as 16 weeks.
Martin, at the Sept. 26 meeting, didn’t offer a specific reason or reasons for the latest delay for the troubled project. “We have to wait for material,” he said. “We have to wait for certain types of labor.”
The former candidate for selectman also tried to lay a share of the blame for the lack of progress with the town. “Because of an action of the town, the project sat for awhile,” he said. “It didn’t sit for a while because we made a decision to sit on the project.”
Martin didn’t specify what action he referred to. The slow pace of the project has been a source of irritation for municipal officials. Last year, the Newcastle Planning Board scheduled additional meetings to speed the permitting process. Later, it twice granted extensions when the developer failed to meet the terms of a conditional permit.
“The town has done nothing to hold this project back,” Newcastle Town Administrator Ron Grenier said.
Mattson, in previous statements, had blamed construction delays on the collapse of the housing market.
Ultimately, Martin dismissed concerns about the possibility of another of the indefinite, months or years-long delays that have plagued the project over the last decade.
“We’re proceeding with the project according to the schedule we’ve adopted and we intend to be marketing units in the building in the late spring of next year,” Martin said. “We will complete the project in accordance with the terms of our permit.”
The project’s investors, including Mattson, “have not recognized a return… because of the various issues surrounding the project,” Martin said. “It is not our intent to purchase a property and not have it produce a return.”
The investors have yet to determine “the details of how, exactly, we want [the units] to look,” Martin said.
“Obviously we want to button up the building before winter gets bad. That protects our investment,” Martin said. “We’re anxious” to finish the project, he said.
Newcastle Code Enforcement Officer Stan Waltz expressed concern about the safety of the site. He asked Martin to erect a fence and seal off first floor windows.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office monitors the building and the developer hasn’t “noticed any issues” with trespassing, Martin said. “It’s a risk we’ll work to mitigate.”
Martin also raised a concern to selectmen. Newcastle, he said, is responsible for the maintenance and regulation of a spur of state-owned land in front and extending to either side of the project. The parcel currently consists of sidewalks and parking space for the Harbor House and abutting commercial and residential properties.
“It’s actually found parking space for the town of Newcastle,” Martin said. “That’s a space that you folks need to take a look at.”
