Courtesy / Swan Agency Real Estate
A stairway is accented by vintage stained glass windows.
May 15, 2022
Northern Maine inn eyed for expanded events opportunities
Courtesy / Swan Agency Real Estate
The 10-room Blair Hill Inn sits atop a 900-foot-long field stone wall.
The new owner of a 78-acre, turnkey inn in northern Maine was attracted to the location and existing revenue stream and also to the opportunity to expand the wedding and events business.
“It’s a gorgeous wedding venue,” said Jennifer Whitlow, who bought the Blair Hill Inn & Restaurant in Greenville. “The carriage barn and another large barn are perfect for turning into new opportunities.”
Whitlow bought the inn, at 351 Lily Bay Road, from Ruth and Dan McLaughlin, for an undisclosed price. The list price was $6.995 million.
Dana Moos of Swan Agency Real Estate and Lisa Decker Griffeth with the New England Real Estate Company brokered the transaction.
The clapboard-sided structure was built in 1891 as a “gentleman’s estate” and horse breeding farm, according to listing information. It overlooks Moosehead Lake and has 10 guest rooms, most with water views. Exterior features include a 20-foot-high, 900-foot-long field stone wall, private hiking trails, a trout pond, fields and woodlands. Interior features include a wood-paneled cocktail lounge with picture windows, parlor and dining room with wood trim and paneled walls, center foyer, and workout/equipment room.
There’s a main house, carriage house, spa building, 90-foot first floor veranda, 90-foot third-floor balcony, porte-cochere, stone fountain, manicured lawns, flower and vegetable gardens, and greenhouse.
The inn is designated as a Relais & Châteaux property.
Relais & Châteaux is an exclusive global trade association headquartered in Paris.
The sellers
Blair Hill Inn sits atop a 21-acre hilltop in Greenville overlooking Moosehead Lake.
The McLaughlins acquired the property in 1997 with the idea of transforming it into a boutique inn. They invested thousands of sweat equity hours.
When the McLaughlins bought it, the inn had “great bones” but required extensive restoration, the couple told Mainebiz in 2018.
With the help of local contractors, they restored the house into a 10-room inn with restaurant, cocktail lounge and spa.
COURTESY / BLAIR HILL INN
Ruth and Dan McLaughlin, seen here in 2018, sold Blair Hill Inn in Greenville after 25 years of ownership.
Around 2015, the McLaughlins checked out what it might take for their inn to be accepted into Relais & Chateaux. But they set the idea aside upon learning the combined cost of the application and membership fee — which, at the time, could total about $30,000.
Then two guests facilitated a connection with the Libra Foundation, which offered to assist with the costs. They accepted Libra’s offer. Libra Future Fund, a nonprofit created by the foundation in 2005, paid the application and membership fees. The project was viewed as dovetailing with the foundation’s revitalization efforts throughout Piscataquis County, as a way to draw people to the area and also to raise the bar for other businesses in the region.
The buyer
Whitlow comes from a career in corporate marketing and communications. She worked in the aerospace industry for 25 years, including Cessna and Lockheed Martin.
For the last few years, she worked in the health care industry as chief communication officer with UnitedHealth Group. She transitioned out of that job in July 2021.
Whitlow has had a house on Islesboro for about five years.
“I’ve had a love affair with Maine for about 30 years,” she said. “I grew up in the Midwest. The first time I ever stepped foot in Maine, I was right out of college, working as a recruiter for my university. I drove up from Boston at night in September. The next morning, when I woke up and opened the blinds, I was in awe of the beauty.”
She decided to move to Maine full-time before she made the decision to buy an inn.
“I wasn’t sure what my next step would be,” she said. “But when I was originally looking at houses five years ago, I started looking at inns. I view this as an acceleration of my retirement ideas.”
Whitlow discovered the Blair Hill Inn through Moos’s website.
“It wasn’t yet on the market,” she said. “But one look at the website, and I said, That was the property for me. We were under contract before I saw it in person. It was a big commitment, but I was really confident, based on the reviews and on the fact that it’s a Relais & Châteaux property, along with everything I saw and heard from the owners, from Dana and from independent third parties.”
Whitlow saw the property for the first time in early February. It’s in top condition, she noted.
“The inn is stunning,” she said. “It has been cared for and updated really beautifully.”
Whitlow plans to invest in building out more event space, including an addition to the carriage barn. Work is underway on turning another barn into a home for her own use. For the future, she said, she envisions building small guest cottages up the hillside. In the main house, she’s added features such as antique chandeliers in the grand staircase and the foyer.
Initial investment is expected to be about half a million dollars in details such as décor and new bedding. Preparation has begun to renovate the barns, a project expected to total another $1 million.
The purchase was financed through the U.S. Small Business Administration 504 program with loans provided by First National Bank and Granite State Development Corp., a certified development company in Portland. The program provides loans advantageous to borrowers for certain commercial purposes in combination with a regular bank loan.
Renovations will be paid for out of Whitlow’s retirement funds.
The plan is to run the inn year-round except for short stretches during the shoulder season. The inn had previously been seasonal.
The property is a learning experience. But the inn came with an experienced team who have agreed to stay on, said Whitlow.
“The previous owners cultivated a super positive working environment,” she said, adding, “I feel confident going into the season.”
The summit of Blair Hill is having a moment. Just about a year ago, the Lodge at Moosehead Lake, an early 19th-century property just down the street at 368 Lily Bay Road, sold to a Rhode Island couple swapping high-powered careers for the innkeeping life. Moos was a broker on that transaction as well.
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