The Kingsleigh Inn prior to Friends of Acadia purchasing the former bed and breakfast for Acadia National Park Seasonal Housing. (Photo by Julia Walker Thomas/Friends of Acadia)

Published in the Bangor Daily News March 28, 2023 (full story)

To help address a severe workforce housing shortage in Mount Desert Island, a nonprofit organization has purchased a Southwest Harbor inn to help house seasonal employees of Acadia National Park.

Friends of Acadia bought the Kingsleigh Inn on Main Street this month. It will be used as housing for 10 seasonal Acadia employees. The group, which supports and advocates for Acadia, paid $1.275 million for the inn, according to FOA President Eric Stiles.

Stiles said that addressing the park’s staff housing needs has become a top priority for Acadia and the friends group because of the direct adverse impact the shortage is having on the park. If people reject job offers from the park because they can’t find a place to live, then the park will be unable to keep up with vital programs and services.

The purchase of the inn is one part of the housing strategy the friends group is pursuing, he said. By making minor upgrades, it has helped increase the number of beds at houses on the island that the park already uses for seasonal employees, he said, and it is seeking to boost that number higher with other development projects.

The park currently has 90 bedrooms for its seasonal employees, but the friends group has set a goal of helping the park add 130 more bedrooms over the next decade, Stiles said. The park’s staffing needs are likely to grow, he said, but it also likely see a decrease in the amount of housing it has now, either because leases it has now won’t be renewed or because the park decides to move to newer housing.

Read the full story from the Bangor Daily News: Nonprofit buys inn to use as seasonal housing for Acadia National Park employees

Read more about the housing challenges for Acadia’s workforce:
Finding a Place: Housing Challenges Impact Vital Work in Acadia – via Friends of Acadia

Additional Coverage:

• Nonprofit buys Southwest Harbor inn to house Acadia National Park employees – via News Center Maine
• Friends of Acadia purchase adds housing for park staff – via WABI
• Friends of Acadia are converting a former inn to park employee housing – via Maine Public
• Friends Of Acadia Acquires Seasonal Housing For Acadia National Park Employees – via National Parks Traveler
• Friends of Acadia buys inn to provide housing for park employees – via Mainebiz
• Maine’s outdoor tourism industry seeks solutions for workforce housing