The owner of the New England Outdoor Center near Millinocket was already deep into plans for an outdoors recreation activity and event center nearby this year, but demand driven by the pandemic has made the project even more vital.
The 9,141-square-foot activity center, which will include a microbrewery and tasting room, will break ground either in December or March, after recent approval from the Land Use Planning Commission, said Matt Polstein, of Hammond Ridge LLC, which is developing the site. Polstein also owns the outdoor center on Millinocket Lake.
"There's been exceptional demand" this year for the center's existing outdoor recreation, which includes 20 cabins, Polstein told Mainebiz this morning. "It tells us people want to be in this part of the world, recreating in a safe place. We had more demand than we had capacity for in July and August."
He said that, despite short-term challenges related to the pandemic, the demand makes him confident that in the long term, the plan is supportable.
The second phase of the plan incudes a 7,143-square foot event center that would host weddings and other gatherings. Once the first two phases are complete, Polstein said he will focus on residential development. Polstein said a 135 kilowatt solar array is almost completed, and it will make the Twin Pines resort at the NEOC, which has 20 cabins that accommodate up to 115 guests, zero net carbon.
The development is planned for land on Hammond Ridge, near the New England Outdoor Center, where there the center expanded its trail system last year. The area is about eight miles northwest of Millinocket in T1 R8 WELS (the unorganized territory designation means township 1, range 8 west of the easterly line of the state). The area is southeast of the southern entrance of Baxter State Park, and the outdoors center, activity center and events center are dispersed around the Hammond Ridge area.
Some 244 acres of the area on the shore of Millinocket Lake was rezoned in 2007 to allow resort development, including a conference center, lodges and vacation homes. In 2018, another 32.68 acres was rezoned to allow the event center on Hammatt Ridge Road, according to the LUPC filing.
Initial design is by Portland-based Aceto Landscape Architects and Ellsworth-based Mike Sealander, of Sealander Architects. Bowman Constructors, of Newport, is the construction manager.
Polstein said that both buildings will have "magnificent views" of Katahdin and its follow mountains to the northwest, across the lake.
Courtesy / Land Use Planning Commission
The yellow dot shows the Hammond Ridge LLC activity center site, and the blue dot is where the event center will be built. New England Outdoor Center is on the peninsula at the top left.
Basecamp, hub for future development
The activity center will be a gathering spot that brings together the variety of outdoor activities the business already offers — cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, mountain biking, hiking, snowmobiling and more. Polstein developed the Katahdin Area Trails, six miles of trails for a variety of activities, on Hammond Ridge last year.
"You'll be able to ride your mountain bike on some beautiful trails, then come in to have a cold beer brewed on site," he said.
"This will be a wonderful amenity for NEOC guests and fabulous for recreation in the state of Maine," said Caitlin Aceto, of Aceto Landscape Architects. She said the activity center is envisioned as a basecamp and hub for future planning at the outdoor center.
"Sealander Architects along with Aceto Landscape Architects have been working closely with Matt Polstein and are excited to see the plan evolve in a fabulous direction," she told Mainebiz.
Polstein said the biggest challenge has been finding staff. While there have been inquiries from out of state by sous chefs and others who are considering relocating, there have been no applicants from the hard-hit southern Maine hospitality sector. He said they're working on more focused marketing to find employees.
The region, in northwestern Penobscot County and eastern Piscataquis County has, for the last century, had Baxter State Park. But the region's popularity is growing with in-state and out-of-state visitors, partly fueled by new Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, as well a regional campaigns marketing it as four-season outdoors destination.
Polstein began his company in 1982, with a white-water rafting program, and has grown it into one of the region's major recreation draws. He's seen the area change from one driven by booming mill towns to one feeling the effects of the mills shutting down. But things are changing again, driven by the focus on outdoor recreation.
"Some of our enthusiasm for this project is born out of the enthusiasm for the Katahdin Region at large," he said. "There's definitely a mood change up here."
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November 24, 2020 at 10:10PM
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Growing outdoor recreation demand supports Katahdin Region activity, event centers plan - Mainebiz
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