Mainebiz

V O L . X X X I N O. X X V I I I D E C E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 2 5 18 M I D C O A S T / D OW N E A S T F O C U S The midcoast has had a number of key developments of late, including the sale of a major boatyard, a yacht launch by a significant boatbuilder and debate over housing for the "missing middle." A key boatyard is sold to private equity-backed firm Front Street Shipyard, a boatbuilder and marina on the Belfast water- front, is slated to be sold to Safe Harbor Marinas, the largest marina and superyacht servicing business in the U.S. Earlier this year, the shipyard's owner, Dubba LLC, entered into a purchase and sale agreement with SH Marinas LLC. e acquisition is scheduled to close Dec. 31, Greg Glavin, Safe Harbor's regional vice president, wrote in a letter to the Belfast Planning Board. "Safe Harbor plans to maintain the property as a working marina and boatyard," Glavin wrote. "We are committed to continuous invest- ment in the asset and its employees, with an estimated $5 million invest- ment planned within the first three years of ownership. Beyond this initial investment, Safe Harbor will continue to allocate resources for ongoing maintenance." In April, Safe Harbor Marinas was itself sold by real estate invest- ment company Sun Communities Inc. (NYSE: SUI) to Blackstone Infrastructure, which is part of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE: BX), the world's largest alternative asset manager with more than $1 trillion in assets under management, according to its website. Safe Harbor, which is based in Dallas, had $965.8 million in revenue in 2024 and a network of 138 marinas, serving over 39,000 members. Established in 2011, Front Street Shipyard started with a $13 million investment by a partnership that included four Maine boatbuilders. e boatyard, at 101 Front St., revi- talized Belfast's working waterfront, tearing down derelict buildings and adding state-of-the-art facilities. e yard offers boatbuilding, resto- ration, refits and marina services, tak- ing on yachts as large as 200 feet. JB Turner, one of the principals in Dubba LLC and a 2017 Mainebiz Next List honoree, declined to com- ment on the prospective deal. Belfast debates addition of 'missing middle' housing Belfast continues to make headway in its quest to address the housing shortage in the Waldo County city. In August, the planning board requested further information for an ongoing proposal for a 200-unit "miss- ing middle" condominium development and approved a Waldo Community. Action Partners project to build an affordable 60-unit multi-family build- ing, with construction anticipated to start in August 2026. e board recently heard two addi- tional proposals, one for eight lots for single-family and multi-family develop- ment and the other for 10 apartments in three buildings. Carl Savitz of Big Bridge Ventures LLC proposed a subdivision called Highview. e proposal is to divide the site, at the corner of High and Pierce streets in a residential neighborhood near the downtown area, into eight lots on a 2.37-acre site that could support single-family homes and multifamily development in the future. e specif- ics of the development haven't been worked out yet. e site has existing buildings. A commercial building is on the western portion of the site and houses several commercial units. A residential struc- ture is on the northern portion and is utilized as a two-story apartment build- ing. ose two buildings will remain, Bub Fournier, the city's director of plan- ning and codes, told the board. Further development would include the subdivided lots plus open space, street trees, landscaping and pedestrian lighting. Savitz anticipated that the estimated cost to build a road and install utili- ties would be $500,000. He didn't have a total project cost and didn't specify which market segment he was targeting. Two neighbors expressed concern about the potential for increased traffic, high speeds and multiple driveways. "Pierce Street, with that very for- midable hill, is challenging right now to drivers and gets a lot of traffic, a lot of pedestrians and, once you reach a certain point on that hill, there's a real blind [spot] to the top of the hill: You can't see if anyone's coming down," said one resident. Another said of the traffic situation, "It's just awful the way it is." Regarding a proposal for the Vine Place Apartments, the planning board considered a site plan amendment for a proposal from Randy Cornelius and his company, Beyond the Meter Inc., for a multi-family housing development on Boats & notes Midcoast economy depends on boats and tourism, but also needs housing B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r F I L E P H O T O / B I L LY B L A C K An aerial view of Front Street Shipyard shows its expanse in relation to downtown Belfast (at upper left)

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