Hancock County

Island Workforce Housing is following up the success of its first 10-unit project in Deer Isle with a 12-unit modular development in Stonington, due to be completed this spring.

Major players in Bar Harbor’s hospitality industry completed a property transfer that included restaurant and employee housing space.

The goal to open is in Q1 2027. With Bucksport, the Tennessee retailer will have 24 stores in Maine. Locations range from Madawaska to Sanford.

Six Maine students will be selected to receive full scholarships to the Bar Harbor-based liberal arts college through the school's new Pine Tree Scholars program.

If the park can’t provide bedrooms for prospective seasonal employees, most couldn’t find a place to live within commuting distance — also increasingly the case with permanent staff.

The Trenton home is Zero Energy’s first modular build, prefabricated at Knickerbocker’s Wiscasset facility with installations such as cabinetry, drywall and flooring.

The Christmas Vacation Shop on the town's Main Street was recognized among the nation's most "Christmassy" stores in a national survey.

Overall, Bar Harbor had a middling season, but it really came down to whom you talk to. Lodgings did pretty well, compared with last year. The retail sector was probably hit a little more, with the loss of cruise ship traffic.

This issue looks at two areas where the life of the downtown is a barometer of the vitality of a city or town.

Without affordable housing that match income levels Deer Isle and Stonington risk ongoing labor shortages, declining school enrollment and a shrinking year-round population and tax base.