New owner creates next step in Kenniston Hill Inn's 228-year history
Still standing after more than two centuries that included a Revolutionary War soldier, a murder, a ghost, a starring role in books, magazines and a Lifetime television program, and a move across the street to another property, a new owner will write Kenniston Hill Inn's next chapter.
The Inn sits on a newly created 0.63 acre lot and was listed with Tindal & Callahan Real Estate for $179,000. On Friday, Feb. 28, J. D. Barnes Properties LLC sold it to Vintage Maine Homes, a Maine-based company headed by Patrice Cappelletti. Her work has been featured on Magnolia Network and in Downeast Magazine and Fine Homebuilding, among other publications.
The listing notes the property is zoned for residential and commercial use with town approval. The Inn has a 28' x 36' poured concrete foundation. The driveway is shared with an uphill neighbor and water and sewer are available at the street.
According to Jonathan Tindal, Designated Broker and Realtor, the seller hired surveyors to conceptualize how to divide the entire property at 8 Country Club Road which includes the former ElderCare Network/Boothbay Green building.
"The survey work is intended to design a lot split that conforms to the zoning ordinance," he explained. "The '1-A Wiscasset Road' used in the listing follows MLS rules for properties that don't yet have an address of their own," Tindal said. "In this case, the new 27,000 square foot lot's address and town lot number will be determined by the Town."
"Maine has some of the oldest housing stock in the nation," Tindal continued. "We see a lot of old homes that are improved with a more modern approach to the functionality of the house."
Steven Teel, owner of Teelgreen Energy whose family owned the Inn for almost 30 years, will work on the project as well, helping to restore the building's interior. Teel was site manager for the building in 2014 and recently wrote to the Register, hoping to preserve the Inn building.
"I'm intimately familiar with the building (and) the fact that it's such a venerable (circa 1797) and important landmark has caused me to focus again on its future," he said in a January letter to the editor.
"At this point in time I see no particular structural damage. The upstairs floors are still able to be restored. The timber framing in the attic is still sound. The center of the building, which contains the crown jewels in the form of the six fireplaces which, in some cases, have original woodwork from 1800, is unaffected by the leaks," he wrote. As Teel told The Register, "The precious interior is irreplaceable. Patrice's approach is that of a curator."
In December 2014, thanks to the efforts of Teel and local business owner Susan Brackett, the community raised the funds needed to save the Inn from demolition by moving it from its 200-year old location to the new one.
In an email to The Register, Cappelletti wrote, "Steve has been an incredible steward years ago to save the Inn and relocate it. I look forward to joining him to co-steward this lovely storied building."
"We'll be starting some cleanup next week and scheduling the installation of new roofing within a few weeks," Teel said. "The future of the Inn is looking bright."