Bailey Island Motel listed for sale at $2.2 million

The operators of the Bailey Island Motel in Harpswell have listed the property for sale at nearly $2.2 million through Keller Williams Realty.

The late 1950s-era motel at 2041 Harpswell Islands Road, formerly known as Cook’s Island View Motel, is operated by Jeffrey Raup and Mindy Schwarz-Raup, who said they recently invested about $500,000 in renovations to the property.

The couple initiated a purchase of the motel in late 2021 from its previous owners, Barry and Patti Pontolillo, under what’s known a “bond for deed,” in which the buyer agrees to purchase a property by making payments over time to the seller, similar to a mortgage.

“Technically, I’m still the owner,” Barry Pontolillo said in a recent phone interview. “When they pay me all the money, I’ll give them the deed.”

Raup and Schwarz-Raup had previously listed the property for sale for $2.4 million through the brokerage Vitalius Real Estate Group LLC, but it didn’t sell at that price. Schwarz-Raup said the couple listed the property because they are looking for an equity partner to either purchase or co-own and manage the business.

“We’re just looking for the right person to be our partner, basically,” she said.

Built in 1959, the 19-unit motel on 3.5 acres also includes a three-bedroom, two-bathroom innkeeper’s living quarters, a laundry room, gift shop, and outdoor, in-ground swimming pool. It has parking for up to 21 vehicles.

Schwarz-Raup said the couple has done extensive renovations including interior and exterior redecorating, adding brick entryways to the rooms, installing heating and air conditioning in every room, and adding microwave ovens, mini refrigerators and sitting areas in each room. They’ve also upgraded the electrical system and installed new lighting, an energy-efficient hot water heater, and upscale bedding and mattresses, she said.

“Things are going fabulously,” Schwarz-Raup said. “We’re getting a lot of new customers.”

The motel opened for the season on April 15 and will likely remain open through Thanksgiving, she said, adding that the early summer was negatively affected by rainy weather.

“Sometimes people would book for three or four days and it would rain every day,” Schwarz-Raup said.

The couple also own part of the former Bailey Island Motel a half-mile away at 1951 Harpswell Islands Road, just south of the Bailey Island Bridge. They had planned to convert the 65-year-old building into three high-end condominiums but ran into issues with siting the reservoir for what would have been a required fire-suppression sprinkler system, town officials said.

Public records show a portion of the former motel was sold in July to Mallan Maine LLC, incorporated in 2022 by a person named Morgan Noble. No further details about the buyer were available.

Schwarz-Raup declined to discuss the former motel site, which she and her husband bought in March 2021 from Paul and Rita Dube and operated as a motel for one summer. The motel ran out of water in July and August of that year.

Jeffrey Raup, who has a background in real estate development, has said the new Bailey Island Motel has larger and better rooms than its shuttered former namesake, along with a much more robust water supply.

“We had customers from the old location that were a little hesitant to go to the new location because they loved the old location, and they all said, ‘Oh, I would never go back to the old location,'” Schwarz-Raup said. “Some of them have been back two or three times already.”

This story has been updated to reflect that a portion of the former Bailey Island Motel property was sold to a new owner in July.

Have a comment or news tip? Email J. Craig Anderson at craig@harpswellanchor.org.