The Harpswell Heritage Land Trust is planning a major expansion to its headquarters at 153 Harpswell Neck Road that will more than double the building’s size.
The expansion will add offices, a new entrance, kitchen, conference room, storage area and screened porch. Overall, it will increase the facility’s size from about 1,600 square feet to almost 3,500 square feet.
Executive Director Matt Newberg said the estimated cost is $750,000, calling the figure “a very rough guess” and saying it could be less. Most of the needed funds are already in hand, he said.
Newberg said the expansion will create enough office space for staff, some of whom have been working out of the facility’s community room. That, in turn, will free up the community room to be used for its intended purpose.
The expanded facility will include space for the Land Trust’s nature camp participants to do activities. Also, enhanced landscaping will address drainage issues and add an interpretive trail and gardens, Newberg said. Ten additional parking spaces are planned, which would bring the total to 36.
The expansion plan was conceived a few years ago, Newberg said, but leadership changes at the Land Trust delayed its implementation. The project is set to go before the Harpswell Planning Board during a meeting at the Town Office at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21. A site visit already has been completed.
The Land Trust is seeking permission for a second “curb cut” on Route 123 to create separate entrance and exit points. Newberg said the existing access is too narrow for vehicles to enter and exit simultaneously, creating a potential safety concern along the road.
Newberg said he is looking forward to seeing the expanded facility in full use. He isn’t sure when the project will be finished, but said it could be as early as summer 2027 if all goes smoothly.
“What’s really exciting to us is creating another community resource,” he said.
