The property at 75 Main St. in Newcastle, which includes a commercial and condominium building project and a marina, is for sale for $1.75 million.
The property, which developers call the Newcastle Harbor House, went on the market July 5.
Drum and Drum Real Estate of Damariscotta is listing the property. A marketing brochure by the agency says the property “could soon become Newcastle’s landmark property” because of its “prominent location in the center of the village.”
The brochure describes the building as “under construction” with 95 percent of the exterior complete and the interior “not yet finished.”
The building is for sale “as is” and “no further construction is anticipated prior to closing,” according to the brochure. “The building is offered at a fraction of the total cost to construct and offers buyers a unique opportunity.”
The floor plan calls for two 1500-square-foot commercial or retail units and a 1500-square-foot condominium on the first floor, two 1600-square-foot condominiums on the second floor and two 1400-square-foot condominiums on the third floor.
The site plan for the property shows 6 to 8 indoor and 23 outdoor parking spaces. The marina, currently doing business as Newcastle Shores Marina, offers slips for more than 20 boats.
Newcastle Publick House LLC owns the property. The company is a subsidiary of Mattson Development LLC, a real estate development firm with headquarters in Winthrop.
Mattson Development specializes in the purchase and redevelopment of old, vacant buildings such as mills, mostly in Kennebec County.
Mattson projects include multimillion-dollar medical complexes and office buildings, but the company has been unable or unwilling to complete the Newcastle Harbor House since its purchase of the property more than six years ago.
Mattson Development Communications Director Drew Morris did not respond to an interview request.
Newcastle Publick House LLC paid a $12,500 fee to the town of Newcastle in February as part of a consent agreement with the town to resolve violations of town ordinances relative to its failure to complete the project within the terms of its building permit.
The company also agreed to complete the exterior of the building by May 1 or pay another fee of $250 per day until the building is complete.
The exterior remains incomplete, according to town officials, and the $250-per-day fine amounts to $19,750 as of July 18.
Newcastle Code Enforcement Officer Stan Waltz said the town considers the exterior incomplete because the building lacks siding in some places.
Newcastle town attorney Peter Drum said the consent agreement acts as a lien on the property. If Newcastle Publick House LLC sells the property, the agreement and the fines would remain in place.
The terms of the sale would likely require Newcastle Publick House LLC to pay the fines out of the proceeds, Drum said. Otherwise, the buyer would have to pay.
The town could eventually foreclose on the property if neither Newcastle Publick House LLC nor a future owner pays the fee, Drum said.
“The town would basically treat any new owner as a successor in interest to the current owner,” Drum said, which means the new owner would inherit all issues and liabilities with the property.
The property was home to Weeks-Waltz Motors Inc., for many years before Waldo Waltz sold it to local investors Daniel Day, Mark and Jewel Hanley and Wayne Plummer.
The investors, under the name Newcastle Shores Inc., planned to build condominiums at the site.
A zoning change, a lengthy permitting process and a subsequent appeal and lawsuit from Ralph Doering Jr., who owns properties on either side of the Newcastle Harbor House, slowed development.
Newcastle Shores Inc., sold to Newcastle Publick House LLC in March 2007.
