BANGOR – A land deal that will bring at least 30 jobs to the area received a unanimous thumbs up Monday night from city councilors.

Under the terms of a lease and purchase option approved during a council meeting at City Hall, Maine Marine Manufacturing LLC will develop a shipyard at Stearn’s Pit, located at Turtle Head Marina on the Penobscot River. Maine Marine Manufacturing is affiliated with Hodgdon Yachts Inc. of East Boothbay, which will continue to base its yacht-making operation there.

The shipyard on the Penobscot will serve as a manufacturing facility for an all-composite version of the aluminum Mark V patrol boat used by Navy SEALs.

Though the 16.62-acre property sits in Hampden, it has belonged to Bangor since 1922 when the city bought it to use as a gravel pit. In recent years, it has served as the city’s snow dump. The city retained the right to continue to dump snow there through next March or until the date the lease is signed, whichever is later.

Developed in partnership with the University of Maine Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, the composite vessel is designed to reduce the wear and tear on boat operators by absorbing the impact of the vessel crashing through waves at speeds of 50 knots and up. Such force on the current aluminum version of the boat often results in injuries ranging from broken bones to broken teeth.

If the prototype is successful, the Navy could end up buying $200 million worth of the patrol boats, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said earlier this year.

Company officials say the composite boat could have other applications, including use by the Coast Guard.

Councilor Gerry Palmer called the deal a “tremendous opportunity” for the area, given the jobs it will create and the fact it will bring back the boat building industry that once was a staple of the Bangor-Brewer area.

“This is a good company and I’m excited about shipbuilding coming back to Penobscot River,” Councilor Patricia Blanchette said.

The company expects to employ at least 30 people initially but has indicated that its work force could grow to 150 once the company hits peak production, according to city documents connected to the deal.

Under the terms of the deal, the company will receive a 20-year lease at a cost of $4,660 a month for the first five years, with the cost to be adjusted every five years thereafter. The company, however, can purchase the parcel for $650,000, or the current market rate, at any time during the term of the lease.

Before it can exercise its purchase option, however, the company must obtain any needed state and local construction approvals, invest a minimum of $4 million in the project and employ at least 30 people.

During the first phase of development, expected to start next year, the company will build a 22,000-square-foot facility for the manufacture of up to four 80-foot advanced composite vessels a year within two years of breaking ground. The second phase will consist of a 54,000-square-foot building for the construction of 150-foot vessels, the production of which will depend on orders.

In response to questions from Councilor Geoffrey Gratwick, Rod McKay, the city’s community and economic development director, said the boat maker promised to provide “very decent wages and full benefits” for its employees. McKay said the company also indicated that it would buy goods and services locally when possible.

dgagnon@bangordailynews.net

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