🔒After slow start, Bethel Station condo project on track to open for 2026-27 ski season

A condominium project that’s been on the drawing board for close to seven years is now under construction in Bethel. Progress was slowed by permitting, financing and the pandemic, but now the first phase of the Residences at Bethel Station is underway and lead developer Tony Donovan said he expects 38 units to be ready for occupancy in time for the 2026-27 ski season. The residences are being built on a 7.5-acre site at 23 Cross St., part of a 40-acre mixed-use development situated between state routes 26 and 2. It’s within walking distance of Bethel’s downtown district and a 10-minute drive from Sunday River Resort. The project first got underway in the 1990s, in partnership with the town of Bethel, the state and a group of local investors. The vision was that the location, adjacent to a former train station, would be advantageous should passenger service, discontinued in 1960, be re-established from Boston to Montreal, with stops in Portland and Bethel. Bethel Station LLC bought the property from Bethel Station Associates in March 2020 for $399,000. Donovan, the principal of Bethel Station who is affiliated with Portland-based Spectrum Real Estate, is leading the project. While the original project cost for the condominium build was expected to come in at $10 million, Donovan told Mainebiz that number has increased. “This first phase of 38 condominium units is coming in at a bit over $15 million. That does not include our initial equity and funding from Franklin Savings Bank toward engineering, site work and permitting — another $1million plus or minus,” Donovan said. Financing is a combination of owner equity and lending from Genesis Capital, based in Sherman Oaks, Calif. CoastalConstruction Partners from Stoughton, Mass., is on the development team with Donovan. The project manager is Portsmouth, N.H.-based DeStefano & Associates. Architectural design was provided by THA Architects of Stratham, N.H. Donovan is pre-selling the 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units, which range in size from 1,165 to 1,600 square feet. Prices start at $540,000, and five of the 38 are under contract. In addition to the 50,000-square-foot first phase of the condominium development, the larger property is home to a mix of businesses including a movie theater, bowling alley, a Dunkin’ coffee shop and an expanded Norway Savings Bank office complex. The Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce occupies the former train station. Also planned for the residential site are a 22,000-square-foot building to include 11 townhomes and a two-level 15,000-square-foot commercial space that will be offered as three separate 5,000-square-foot units. Donovan said he expects to bring plans for that phase before the Bethel Planning Board in February.