Across from the Bailey Island firehouse, a radio tower rises above the neighborhood, broadcasting prayers and teachings from an international network of evangelical stations. Below, a house on the property is slated for demolition. Neighbors and a town official hope to save the building and convert it into affordable housing. With a deadline approaching, there is now some hope that a buyer who shares those goals has emerged.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bible Broadcasting Network owns the tower and the house, and has temporarily delayed demolition of the house in response to the neighbors’ appeal.
The three-bedroom house at 10 Oceanside Road once belonged to the late Albert and Catherine Johnson. The Johnsons lived in the home and, for a time, operated it as a bed-and-breakfast called Katie’s Ketch.
In the 1990s, the Johnsons were connected with the Bible Broadcasting Network, which was interested in adding a station in the Portland area. Surviving family members the Anchor spoke to don’t know how the arrangement came about.
The network now operates dozens of Christian radio stations across the world that broadcast music, sermons and other religious programming. The Harpswell station, WYFP, is at 91.9 FM.
The network constructed a radio tower on the Johnsons’ lot in 1997, in the face of passionate opposition from some neighbors. The Johnsons sold the house to the network in 2013, when they could no longer live there independently, according to their niece, Joan Johnson.
The house and a garage with an apartment gradually fell into disrepair.
The Bible Broadcasting Network’s executive director, Carl Redemann, declined to answer questions about the property and the organization’s plans for it. “There is really nothing to talk about,” he said.
David Chipman, a Harpswell Select Board member who has acted as an intermediary between the Bible Broadcasting Network and residents interested in the house’s future, said the organization appears to be only interested in the tower, not the house.
Between 2022 and 2024, the property was briefly owned by a company called Coastline Wireless, which has an address in Portland. Workers gutted the home’s interior and replaced its windows during that period.
Chipman said he understands the company ran into financial problems while trying to develop the property. Coastline Wireless could not be reached for comment.
The Bible Broadcasting Network bought the property back in 2024, with plans to raze the structures. Chipman said at that point, he was contacted by residents who were interested in saving the house and saw an opportunity to create affordable housing.
A contractor working for the network removed the garage, but Chipman got the network to agree to delay demolition of the house until the middle of March, in order to give the town and local organizations a chance to seek other solutions.
The lot is not large enough for the house and tower to be separated into two properties, according to Chipman, but the town could grant an exemption with voter approval. Chipman said the town won’t buy the property or act as a landlord.
On Feb. 14, Chipman said he had spoken with a private buyer who is interested in purchasing the house and renting it out as affordable housing. The potential buyer could not be reached for comment.
Members of Harpswell’s nascent Housing Committee have discussed the property, but said there is no organization in Harpswell that is able to acquire the house or manage it as a rental.
Housing Committee member Steve Normand brought the property to the attention of Adam Lacher, executive director of Habitat for Humanity 7 Rivers Maine, the local affiliate of the international organization.
Lacher said Habitat would love to help make the Johnsons’ former home into affordable housing, and he hopes the organization could be a partner in such an effort. But he also said he has many questions about the property’s status and what role Habitat might play in its future.
For now, the future of 10 Oceanside Road remains clouded.
