Pineland neighbors offer mixed reviews Developer says upgraded facility will be ready for office tenants by end of year

NEW GLOUCESTER – From the outside, the Pineland Center looks much the same as it did before a private foundation bought it 1 1/2 years ago for $200,000.

Inside the buildings, however, there have been dramatic changes in what housed a state school for people with mental disabilities.

Pineland closed as a mental health facility in 1996.

Contractors have scraped away lead paint and removed asbestos. They’ve replaced windows, doors and electrical, heating and plumbing systems. They installed new carpeting and gleaming fixtures.

All 300,000 square feet of office space on campus should be ready by year’s end, said Morris Fisher, president of DB Richard Ellis/Boulos Property, the real estate company managing the buildings.

Steve Rideout, a neighbor, was initially a skeptic when the Libra Foundation took over the Pineland Center, which opened a century ago as a residential institution for the mentally disabled.

Residents were happy that the 27 buildings and 220-acre property would not languish, but some became concerned as ambitious plans were brought forward.

“I think it’s a great thing right now,” said Rideout, who was sold on the idea during a meeting on his porch with Libra Foundation President Owen Wells.

The private, nonprofit Libra Foundation has spent millions of dollars to turn the center into a thriving mixed-use community within the rural town.

From his back yard, Rideout now has a clear view of Valley Farm, where crops continue to grow and cattle graze as part of the Pineland project. Rideout’s teen-age son was offered a job at the farm.

Also part of the project: A new conference center featuring mahogany paneled meeting rooms for businesses and organizations. That’s in addition to plenty of office space.

There also are three tennis courts, a refurbished gymnasium, swimming pool and four-lane bowling alley. The amenities are intended for use by tenants at the complex and on a limited basis by local residents.

Off campus, signs of Wells’ vision can be seen in the new vinyl fences that stretch for about a mile along Route 231.

Wells also bought both Valley and Hill Farm, a combined 600-plus acres, from the Maine Department of Conservation for $540,000.

Children’s groups will be invited on educational tours to the working farm, where sheep and lambs are now raised, according to Craig Denekas, Libra’s spokesman for the project.

Across the road from Hill Farm, a massive riding center boasting indoor and outdoor arenas and twin 30-stall stables sits atop a hill overlooking the Pineland campus. The stable specializes in therapeutic riding.

Wells envisioned an integrated community within the town, where a mix of private business, light industry, agriculture and education not only coexist, but profit financially and emotionally from the shared locale.

Some remain skeptical.

Some say the 2,000 acres resemble a millionaire’s estate of a ritzy country club. They say it is out of place in this rural town, where most residents live on family farms or in modest homes.

“Its nice to see the area used. But it seems a little bit extravagant,” said Marc Roy, who moved here 12 years ago.

Joyce Wiers, owner of The Penny Store, said most locals who visit her store have mixed emotions about the changes up the road.

With all but one of the buildings on the campus still vacant, most neighbors agree they will have to wait and see how it all turns out.