CAMDEN, Maine ― Lyman-Morse is planning to completely rebuild the boatbuilding and marine services firm at its harborside property after a fire this summer left the series of buildings uninhabitable.
Thomaston-based Lyman-Morse operates a marina on Camden Harbor, offering boaters dockage, repair services and storage. The 31,000-square-foot facility, which also houses restaurant and office space, sustained significant smoke damage when a fire broke out at the Rhumb Line restaurant in June.
Town officials approved Lyman-Morse’s proposal to tear down the majority of the existing buildings and erect new ones in their place. The new footprint of the facility would total about 32,900 square feet.
Following the June fire, the town pulled Lyman-Morse’s certificate of occupancy for the Camden harbor property. There was significant damage to the direct area where the fire occurred, as well as the restaurant’s small indoor seating area and office space. Smoke damage also affected the long series of interconnected buildings that run the length of the pier from the Lyman Morse boat builders office to Blue Barran Distillery.
“The smoke was tremendous and the way the buildings had been assembled, it did allow the smoke to travel extremely far,” Lyman-Morse Special Projects Director Josua Moore said.
Lyman-Morse underwent a significant renovation this summer and fall to keep its largest building inhabitable so it could continue offering services.
The firm plans to tear down and rebuild the remaining parts of the facility within the next year, Moore said.
The new facility will include a second building for boatwork, new office space for Lyman-Morse and for other businesses to lease, a larger restaurant space along with a distillery and a bar, as well as an upgraded lounge for transient boaters.
While the rebuild is being prompted by an unfortunate fire, Moore said the new facility will offer Lyman-Morse and its tenants more modern and efficient spaces.
Moore said the cost of the project is “a moving target” at this point.
Camden Planning Board approved the project earlier this month but it still awaits building permits.