Controversial Bar Harbor hotel opens
New Hampshire-based Ocean Properties has opened its newest hotel in Bar Harbor, a project that generated lengthy debate and legal challenges from another Down East hotelier.
The West Street Hotel opened Tuesday on the corner of West and Main streets, according to a press release. The city's planning board in March 2010 rejected the plan after a year of debate, a decision the board of appeals overturned in April 2010. The approval prompted an appeal from local hotel owner David Witham, who argued it did not conform to local land use ordinances. The city's board of appeals rejected his appeal the next month, which Witham appealed to the Hancock County Superior Court and then the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Meanwhile, construction of the $12 million hotel began in the fall of 2010. In November 2011, the case was returned to the county court for more arguments.
The hotel, billed as a luxury boutique hotel, features private balconies, a rooftop pool and an Irish restaurant and pub.
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