Saddleback ski resort aims for 2020 reopening under new owner
File Photo / Saddleback Mountain Resort
The Berry family has agreed to sell Saddleback Mountain Resort to Arctaris Impact Fund, of Boston, for an undisclosed amount.
As the ski season gets underway across Maine, the long-closed Saddleback Mountain Ski Resort in western Franklin County may be about to roar back to life — under a new owner.
The Berry family, which has owned Saddleback since 2003, announced Friday that a Boston investment fund has agreed to purchase and reopen the mountain, which has been closed for five years.
Terms of the deal, between Saddelback Inc. and Saddleback Land and Timber Corp., with Arctaris Impact Fund, were not disclosed.
Andrew Shepard, who confirmed that he will be Saddleback's new general manager, told Mainebiz that a reopening is planned between Thanksgiving and Christmas of next year, in time for the 2020-21 ski season.
"We plan to make major investments in new lifts, new snowmaking capacity and significant restructuring of the lodge layout to improve restaurant capacity and other amenities," he said. "There will be a more thorough review of the plans post-closing in December."
He added that it be "an honor" to complete the work that the Berry family began.
Shepard is a principal with Harraseeket Consulting Group in South Freeport, and former president, founder and CEO of the Outdoor Sports Institute, also in South Freeport, his LinkedIn profile shows.
'Fired up and ready to go'
Friday's announcement was welcomed by Greg Sweetser, executive director of the Portland-based Ski Maine Association, who said he thinks the planned reopening timetable is realistic given that the Berrys have kept up basic maintenance and staffing throughout the sale negotiations.
"They'll just clean up and be fired up and ready to go," he told Mainebiz.
Sweetser also said he's confident that the new owner will be the right fit, and will aim to develop the property as a year-round attraction.
"The ski area is a major attraction in western Maine and the redevelopment of the resort will bring jobs back to the region, stimulate new capital investment, and contribute to the economic growth in Rangeley and beyond," he added.
Arctaris, which provides debt and equity financing to growth-oriented businesses in underserved communities in inner cities and targeted rural areas, recently teamed up with the Finance Authority of Maine to support Opportunity Zone investments in the state.
The Berrys, who have invested more than $40 million to expand and upgrade the property, said they had been seeking a buyer since 2014-2015, when they determined that major capital expenditures were needed for the ski area's continued operation.
'So much potential'
Friday's announcement said that Arctaris first expressed interest in the property in 2018.
“This beautiful mountain has so much potential and it looks like the buyer has a strong plan moving forward," said Dawn Klein of Lakehome Group, real estate broker for the Berry family, in a statement. "We are excited for the acquisition to be complete for the Saddleback Resort community and the entire Rangeley area."
With an elevation of 4,120 feet, Saddleback is one of the largest mountains in Maine. It offers 2,000 vertical feet of skiing and some of the toughest expert terrain in the East. In the 12 years the Berrys operated the mountain, annual skier visits increased from 15,000 to more than 110,000.
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