Housing
This section of the BDN aims to help readers understand Maine’s housing crisis, the volatile real estate market and the public policy behind them. Read more Housing coverage here.
A 30-acre private island located just north of Swans Island in Blue Hill Bay is on the market for the first time in at least 50 years.
Orono Island, part of the Acadia Archipelago, is largely undeveloped except for two docks and a roughly 10-by-20-foot shelter with wooden sleeping bunks, according to Story Litchfield of LandVest Inc., the listing agent for the property.
The property hit the market on Monday with an asking price of more than $1.7 million and has already garnered the attention of multiple prospective buyers, Litchfield said.
“It’s very rare for an entire island to become available,” Litchfield said. “Sometimes islands are much more remote. This is independent of Swans Island and Bass Harbor, but still very accessible.”
The island was once owned by Margaret “Peggy” Rockefeller, according to the state’s Coastal Island Registry.
The wooded island is a 20-minute boat ride from Bass Harbor and offers paths, picnic spots and sandy beaches. One of the island’s piers is a granite wharf that functions as a deepwater dock while the other is a tidal dock.
A conservation easement on the island restricts development to one residential building and necessary outbuildings, Litchfield said. The island cannot host any commercial properties or more than one home.
There’s no running water, septic system or electricity on the property, making it entirely off-grid. One well has been dug, but the fresh water hasn’t been used for drinking, according to Litchfield.
With a high point of roughly 62 feet, the island offers 360-degree scenic views of boating traffic on Casco Passage and the neighboring islands.
The sellers have a home on Mount Desert Island and for decades used Orono Island as a place for picnics and family gatherings.
“They feel it’s time for the family to pass it along for someone else to enjoy,” Litchfield said.
The island would be ideal for anyone fond of boating, hiking and “anyone with an interest in Maine’s coastal island environments,” Litchfield said. The sellers would also love the next owner to be similarly “conservation-minded.”