Planning Board green-lights new retirement community – Mount Desert Islander – Mount Desert Islander
BAR HARBOR — A nearly 60-acre parcel located between Hamor Lane and Crooked Road in Hulls Cove was approved by the Planning Board in February for a 42-unit retirement community named Harbor Lights. The units will be built on 19 acres of the parcel with the remainder of the largely unbuildable land to remain as green space.
The construction is expected to take three years to complete, said project engineer Greg Johnson, presenting to the board on behalf of owner Chris Maller. In the first year and a half, earth and site work will be done. Once that work is finished, the residential units be offered for sale and completed within the next year and a half.
Johnson said Maller would retain a 1-acre lot on the property, which includes an existing farmhouse, near Route 3, and that the new development would be constructed back farther into the woods and away from the roadway. The pond, visible from the Route 3, would be expanded. Walking paths and sidewalks will be placed throughout the property and out to Route 3, where they will connect with existing sidewalks.
The units will feature a farmhouse aesthetic and be available in one-, two- and three-bedroom styles. Planned amenities include a greenhouse, community building, maker’s space/woodworking shop, gym, covered parking and clinical offices, which will be available for use by retirement community residents. Extensive landscape design, including the planting of 240 trees, as well as a recessed driving loop, are expected to provide a buffer from vehicle lights within the property and to neighboring properties.
