Mainebiz Special Editions

V O L . X X I X N O. X I X 88 Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine WO R K F O R C E W e asked Coston about his latest hotel, called the Pathmaker in a nod to the area's extensive hiking trails. Here's an edited transcript. Mainebiz: What's driving this project? Stephen Coston: e properties that comprise this project had been vacant for many years, which is unusual in downtown Bar Harbor, so we would always look at them and consider the possibilities. e properties were for sale for a while, so over time we thought about it a little harder. e shape of the properties is a little odd — basi- cally a "T" shape — so we had to configure something functional that also fit the site. Eventually we settled on an idea we felt worked for the site, made an offer, got the necessary approvals — and here we are. MB: Tell us the property specs. SC: It is comprised of what had been three parcels — 77 Cottage, 79 Cottage, and 8 Summer. We refer to it as 77 Cottage St. It is three stories of rooms and common space, plus an underground parking level. ere are 45 guest rooms. Dining will be open to the public with around 125 seats. MB: Who's your architect and contractor? SC: Brian Shaw, owner of the local building company Brian D. Shaw Inc., is a partner in the project, so design and construction is handled in-house. MB: When did you break ground and when do you expect to be up and running? SC: We started demolition and site work in October. We do not yet have an opening date but we hope to com- plete the project sometime in 2023. MB: What's the project cost and how are you financing it? SC: We are working with the First. As to the budget, we will just say it is undisclosed. MB: What are you seeing in terms of market potential in the region? SC: People love it here. Modern media favors picturesque places like this. is is not a place you visit once and say you've "done" it. I've lived here my whole life and I'm still find- ing new ways to enjoy it all the time. Most anyone who lives here will say the very same thing. Although there is lots of visitation, even in the middle of August it is not hard to find a quiet spot or a secluded trail, to not really see anybody. Even though the island is comprised of small towns, there is so much to do. We have the right balance in a lot of ways that most places don't. I think recently we have been able to show people that there is no "bad" time to visit Bar Harbor, and now the season is much longer than it used to be. is property will be the second one of ours – Inn on Mount Desert being the other – where we will go year-round. Most of our properties are open for two months longer each year than they were before we bought them. I think the potential is in continuing to make the community more year-round. MB: Does the project target a par- ticular market demographic? SC: No, not really. e property will have various room configurations suitable for different types of travelers, and everything is intended to be clas- sic in the sense of being universally enjoyable. e property has a great location, will be brand new, will offer on site dining, and will live up to the same high standard of quality, design, and hospitality that we have estab- lished at our other properties in Bar Harbor. is will be our 11th prop- erty in town, and they are all differ- ent, but we don't look at it from the perspective of, "is property is for this person, this property is for that person, etc." We look at it more from the perspective of, "Whoever you are and whatever is going to make your experience great, we are here to figure that out and give it to you." MB: In what way has the region's lodging market and industry evolved in recent years? SC: Bar Harbor has always been a des- tination that attracts people who enjoy experiencing a unique and spectacular landscape — which is most every- one. e natural beauty of the island continues to bring people here and will continue to do so, but even as visitors are here to experience things outside of the property where they stay, I still think people have come to expect a higher level of service than they did in the past. We enjoy providing the extra attention to detail that people are looking for. Bar Harbor is more than just a beau- tiful place; we also have great restau- rants, galleries, activities, etc. We want to add to that by making sure our properties are more than just another place to stay. We aim to be a memo- rable part of the great experiences that people have here and to be part of the reason they choose to visit again. MB: How do you see the region's lodging market and industry shap- ing up into the future? SC: It is the natural course of things that as time goes on expectations continue to rise, and I think the industry will con- tinue to provide better and better experi- ences. A great deal of creativity is being expressed in improving every aspect to the travel experience. I enjoy the creative aspect of it — trying to think about things that maybe the guest hasn't even considered, but once you provide it and they experience it, they will never want to go without it. So I think the desti- nation and the services provided will remain fundamentally the same, but get incrementally better. Bar Harbor hotelier Stephen Coston and his business partners – Brian Shaw, Tom St. Germain and Nina St. Germain – are building a 45-room hotel on Cottage Street in Bar Harbor. Coston owns or co-owns a number of other hotels, all but one in downtown Bar Harbor. In 2018, he and his parents built Inn on Mount Desert. That was followed by the acquisition, with various levels of renovations, of nine more inns. One of his recent purchases, finalized earlier this year, was the Cleftstone Manor Inn a Gilded Age mansion dating back to 1881, now a bed-and-breakfast. W With hotel under construction, Bar Harbor hotelier eyes year-round market B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F S T E P H E N C O S T O N Bar Harbor hotelier Stephen Coston — with Brian Shaw, Tom St. Germain and Nina St. Germain — has a 45-room hotel going up in downtown Bar Harbor.

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