With a lead gift of $1.5 million, Saddleback Mountain ski resort on Tuesday launched a capital campaign to fund construction of a 100-unit affordable housing complex for seasonal workers in the Rangeley area.
The donation is from Susan and Frederick “Fritz” Onion in collaboration with the Venn Foundation, a St. Paul, Minn., nonprofit public charity focused on program-related investments.
The gift launches a campaign to raise a total of $2.5 million to build housing for workers in Rangeley, where Saddleback is located.
Construction of the complex is estimated at $4.5 million, according to a news release, and Saddleback expects the remaining $2 million in funding to come from other sources. Ground could break as soon as late spring next year.
Affordable workforce housing in the area is critically needed, according to the release.
“Having grown up skiing and hiking in the area, we know Rangeley is a resilient community and one of the most beautiful areas in Maine,” the Onions said in a joint statement. “However, we also know that economic development is constrained because workforce housing is in very short supply. To attract and retain workers — to grow the economy — we wanted to do something to help increase the amount of affordable housing available.”
The Onions head the Onion Foundation, a charitable organization headquartered in Auburn. Fritz Onion is an entrepreneur who co-founded Pluralsight Inc. (Nasdaq: PS), a Utah-based provider of online technology training whose customers include more than half of the Fortune 500. In 2014, the Onions created and endowed the foundation to support Maine nonprofits.
Saddleback was purchased by Arctaris Impact Fund in 2020. The Boston-based investment firm has said its goal was not only to upgrade and reopen the Rangeley ski resort, but to do so in a way that helps solve for the community and economic development challenges in the region.
“Arctaris’ interest in Saddleback was in re-establishing its role as the largest employer in the region,” said Andy Shepard, Saddleback’s general manager.
“Our efforts to work with the community to help solve for challenges like affordable housing for employees, access to childcare and being able to provide seasonal workers with year-round benefits are all a part of the mission that goes along with being owned by an impact fund.”
At 4,120 feet of elevation and 2,000 feet of vertical, Saddleback is Maine’s third-largest ski mountain, and its base lodge elevation of 2,100 feet is the highest in the East.
Live and work
The development will include private and shared rooms, common kitchen areas, and ski-in/ski-out or bike-in/bike-out trailside living. It will be designed to attract and retain staff who might work on Saddleback Mountain during the winter and at local restaurants, retail shops and other local businesses during the summer.
The aim is to make Rangeley a national destination for those who want to live and work in the community.
“Workforce housing helps every business in town, but it does so much more,” said Chris Massi, Saddleback’s director of development. “As we raise the next $1 million with Venn Foundation, it brings us closer to meeting the needs of the people of Rangeley and the long-term future of the region.”
For more information, contact Massi at 207-208-0901 or chris.massi@saddlebackmaine.com.