Ocean Gate waterfront resort, which offered guest rooms on 33 acres in Southport since the 1950s, will open next May as LOGE Southport after an investment of “just north of” $5 million in renovation and development by its current owner LOGE Camps, according to Executive Vice President of Brand & Marketing Slate Olson.

Olson told the Register in a phone interview, efforts will be directed at making the property consistent with its brand, which, as the website explains, offers guests an “outdoor-adventure-focused experience.”

“We operated the business as Ocean Gate during 2023, but in May 2024 it will open as a fully realized LOGE Camp, called LOGE Southport. Our focus is completely outdoors and on the community,” Olson added. Typically, the business returns a percentage of its revenues to local nonprofits.  

Some of the investment will be in updated design, equipment and furniture for guest rooms, but public areas – inside and out – will also have changes, Olson said.

“We aren’t a traditional developer,” he explained. “As an example, we don’t have traditional front desks at our properties. We will have bars and cafés and put effort into the communal spaces.” LOGE Camp properties include fire pits and live music and they welcome families and dogs, Olson said.

Asked about pricing for LOGE Southport, Olson said, “We want everyone to get outdoors and we don’t anticipate any major changes to the pricing. We want to provide a lot of value – expand what’s offered for the cost. We hope people will feel like nothing has changed but are excited by and delighted with the updates to the rooms and the land.”

Typically, he explained, LOGE looks for locations that are within a three to four-hour drive from major metropolitan areas, offer outdoor activities and an area that is not confined. “We want to be stewards and positive contributors,” Olson added. Discussions about Ocean Gate Resort were ongoing for months before the purchase. “Ticked all the boxes. It’s beautiful,” he said.

The resort has 65 rooms with 1,400 feet of frontage on the Sheepscot River at the northern end of Southport. LOGE, which stands for Live Outside, Go Explore, got the property from Wardman Group of Washington, D.C. in January, and has continued to operate it as Ocean Gate Resort this year.

With the sale, the new owners also sought and received Maine Department of Environmental Protection approval to transfer a permit from the previous owners for the seasonal discharge (April 1 – Nov. 30) of treated wastewater from Ocean Gate Resort to Townsend Gut.

LOGE Camps is headquartered in North Bend, Washington and includes properties across the U.S. Its website is https://www.logecamps.com/home