Committee recommends that Bar Harbor buy ferry terminal
Photo / Peter Van Allen
The former Bay Ferries Ltd. terminal is under consideration by the town of Bar Harbor for purchase and use as a cruise ship terminal.
Bar Harbor’s Ferry Terminal Property Advisory Committee recommended that the town buy the former ferry terminal for $3.5 million in order to split cruise ship traffic between the downtown wharf and the terminal.
The Bangor Daily News reported the recommendation includes turning the terminal into a multi-use marine facility for public transportation, recreation and commercial fishing. But the committee noted that the recommendation doesn’t envision growth in the number of cruise ship passengers.
“It is the last possible place in our community that allows for public access to the waterfront,” Committee Co-Chair Ruth Everland told the BDN.
The committee also advises pursuing a recent offer from Bay Ferries to return ferry service to-and-from Nova Scotia to the facility, if the company agrees to share the terminal.
Other ideas previously floated for the property’s use have been a marina, museum or commercial fishing dock. The terminal is on Route 3, a mile and a half from Bar Harbor’s downtown.
In August, the Mount Desert Islander reported that the Maine Department of Transportation offered to sell the property to Bar Harbor with different contingencies:
- For $3.5 million, the town can buy the property free of any MDOT restrictions.
- For $2 million if an approved business plan and a developer is lined up by closing
- For $2.5 million, which would come with a requirement to use the property for a long-term transportation purpose.
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