Boothbay Harbor may get a new, boutique waterfront hotel on Atlantic Avenue. Architect Valery Tessier, on behalf of PGC8 LLC, showed preliminary designs during the May 10 planning board meeting at town hall.

Tessier presented early plans for a 10-room hotel at 49 Atlantic Ave. She said it would include a pool with a spa, a café, a putting green and other guest amenities including access to a recently updated dock and pier.

“This would be a dramatic and substantial positive improvement to the harbor,” Tessier said. She added, the hotel would be "bringing back commercial development to the harbor and attracting people to both sides of the harbor.”

She said the hotel may be self-service, which is becoming more common in hospitality; whether an employee would be on site full-time has not yet been determined.

Tessier said she showed the preview design to make sure PGC8 LLC is on the right path before a formal application in the next few months.

The proposed location is the former site of The Lobster Dock, which has been closed since 2018. The site is about 95% impervious and “unsightly,” said Tessier. She said PGC8 LLC plans to remove asphalt and other material to bring back lawn, trees and bushes and decrease imperviousness to 50%. The plan includes a 20-foot-wide view corridor from Atlantic Avenue to the water.

Board member Lee Corbin raised concerns about the putting green and other lawn space. She said she is worried about herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals being used within 75 feet of the water and would like to see those mitigated in the formal application.

Corbin also mentioned concerns about the height of the hotel’s buildings, which is limited to 35 feet by town ordinance.

According to Tessier, PGC8 LLC plans to demolish and remove the site’s three structures. Two new structures will be put in so that each can follow height rules and still include the 10-room minimum requirement for hotels.

Board member Jon Dunsford spoke on the history of the site and his interest in preserving it. According to Dunsford, the property was used for shipbuilding as early as 1905. Several notable schooners were launched from the site’s railway including the Zebedee E. Cliff and, during World War II, vessels for the Navy.

“WWII here is an incredible story,” Dunsford said. “There are only two places in town that tell this story. Your site is one of them.”

According to Dunsford, part of the planning board’s responsibility is to protect the town’s historical resources. He said he will make a motion after the formal application, to require PGC8 LLC to make the history of the site clear, including preservation of underwater remnants of the ship railway and other archeological items.

Dunsford was also interested in having the site participate in town historical events and potentially name rooms after some of the vessels built there.

“I think the marketing of this hotel based on the history of the site would be wonderful for the town,” he said.

According to Tessier, PGC8 wants the hotel’s vernacular and design to respect the history of the site and its New England roots. “We want to keep the shingle siding and things that work with the neighborhood. We want this to blend with the neighborhood as best we can,” she said.

In other business, the board approved Squirrel Island Village Corporation’s site plan for a proposed parking lot on Howard Street. The board imposed conditions and changes around buffer zones, fencing and screening to follow town ordinances and act in the interest of the neighboring properties.

In public comment, fisherman Devyn Campbell spoke on behalf of Boothbay Harbor Waterfront Preservation to expedite permitting for float installation in the harbor. The move came after the permit for Eastside Waterfront Park failed in the appeals process April 27.

“We need to do it as soon as possible,” Campbell said. “We’re facing a problem where all the fishermen from Carter’s Wharf have been displaced. They need a temporary place to buy and sell their lobsters and operate their fleet out of. They have been operating out of the one existing commercial float on the property, and we need to get our floats in.”

The board agreed to meet May 24 to discuss the issue. The next regular meeting is June 14.