HOULTON, Maine — The town continues to preserve and financially support a long time tourist site and favorite local recreation spot now that a contract the community had with a Portland real estate firm has expired.
Town Manager Bill MacDonald said Thursday that the Visitors Information Center is no longer listed for sale through SVN/The Urbanek Group, the firm it had hired to market the property.
MacDonald said that when the town’s contract with the group expired in the fall, officials chose not to renew it.
“We had one offer before the end of the contract,” he said of the property. “But we couldn’t reach an agreement.”
The Houlton parcel, eight acres and a 2,000-square-foot log building, had been listed for sale through The Urbanek Group for $500,000. The center offers maps, brochures and other information about Houlton, Aroostook County and the rest of the state.
Six years ago, Houlton took ownership of the center after Maine Department of Transportation officials announced they were considering closing it in order to save money. Costs to maintain the center proved to be higher than Houlton officials expected, however, and they decided to market it.
MacDonald said that if future offers on the property came in he believed the town would consider them. For now, town officials have forged partnerships that have helped them keep the center open without draining the community’s finances.
The visitors center is being operated with a $10,000 contribution from the Maine Department of Transportation, a $2,300 allocation from the Aroostook County government and $30,000 from the Maine Office of Tourism. MacDonald said the community contributes minimal tax dollars to the overall $42,525 annual budget for the facility but the town provides maintenance, plowing and upkeep of the property. The police department also patrols the facility.
MacDonald said he realizes the importance that the center represents not only to the community as an economic development resource, but also as a landmark used for recreation and socialization.
“There is combined interest in promoting economic development at that location and on North Street,” he said. “I believe that continuing to operate the center here is an important part of promoting tourism. There is a combined interest in promoting development and continuing to operate this center year round.”
