The Ship Ahoy property at 112 Cape Newagen Road in Southport is pending sale and owner-to-be Swingbridge Partners is seeking an eight-lot subdivision. Code Enforcement Officer Henry Berne and Assistant CEO Jim Gagnon said the planning board will review the status of the buying group’s subdivision application at 5 p.m. April 7.

Said Berne, “I think the plan is that they're going to remove all the motel structures, the big white building and then the two down on the shore. They plan to keep the structure that was the restaurant … Pretty much all the building lots are going to be located in the developed portion of the motel.”

The property is 22 acres, eight to nine of them set aside as undevelopable per the 1972 deed. Gagnon said the developers will tap into the Boothbay Region Water District main which runs by the property’s main entrance. Each subdivision will have its own septic system, he said.

The motel is a nonconforming use because the property is in a residential area, so plans to convert the land into homes will make it more conforming, said Gagnon.

“They're looking at cluster development which would keep the residences down in the developed area and keep most of the other area as open space … It's not public access land, but it will remain protected as kind of a conservation area.”

Berne and Gagnon said a rumor the development is a 55-and-older community is not true, to their knowledge; the proposal is in the subdivision stage and will not reach any design reviews until after a subdivision review is complete. April 7, the planning board will go through the application to determine if it is complete; the board would, at a future meeting, go through the findings of fact and conclusions of law.

“We're looking through some of their stuff now and it seems to be complete. It's just down to the planning board putting their stamp of approval,” said Berne. “Provided all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed, they'll keep moving along.”

Boothbay Register is seeking further details on Swingbridge Partners.