SOUTHWEST HARBOR – In an apparent first for the state of Maine, an island community has built and unveiled a parking and ferry terminal facility that it owns in another town.

Many island communities in Maine are served by private and state-owned ferries that transport passengers to and from mainland towns, but the town of Cranberry Isles is believed to be the first in the state that has purchased property in another town and developed it for use as a parking lot and ferry terminal.

That property, off Shore Road in the Southwest Harbor village of Manset, was opened officially Thursday in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Island residents and officials traveled by boat from Great Cranberry and Little Cranberry islands, located a few miles off Mount Desert Island, to attend the event.

Construction crews were putting down asphalt in the new parking lot, which has parking for 130 vehicles, as island officials hailed the event as an important one in the community’s history.

“We’ve taken the bit in our teeth and run with it,” Second Selectman David Stainton said. “I think it’s extraordinary how much effort people have put into this.”

It took three special town meetings and a few near-collapses in negotiations before the town bought the 3-acre parcel from developer Pritam Singh in December for $1.9 million, according to town officials.

“It’s a lot of money for [a] little town with only 130 year-round residents,” said Phil Whitney, chairman of the Cranberry Isles’ Land Management Commission.

An estimated 550 people live on the five islands that make up Cranberry Isles during the summer months.

Seasonal ferry service from the site to the islands began on Thursday.

Cranberry Isles officials started last year to look for a parcel of mainland property to buy in response to increased pressures on parking in the Mount Desert village of Northeast Harbor. Prior to the purchase and development of the Manset lot, island residents have either leased parking spaces by the Mount Desert town office or parked in a dirt lot that the town leases from St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Northeast Harbor.

Whitney said the new facility will be used only seasonally at first and that the town intends to continue using the year-round facilities it has used in Northeast Harbor.

“We are simply expanding our base,” Whitney said.

Maintaining affordable access to mainland towns has proven to be a complicated issue for some Maine island communities, and for some of them it has been controversial.

Six island towns – Frenchboro, Islesboro, Matinicus, North Haven, Swans Island and Vinalhaven – are served by state-owned ferries that dock at state-owned terminals. Other islands, however, either have had to negotiate directly with their mainland neighbors or have depended on private property owners and businesses in other towns to preserve their mainland access.

In 1999, the state used its powers of eminent domain to seize a parking lot in Yarmouth on Cousins Island, which is connected to the mainland by a bridge. The parking lot is next to a ferry terminal that serves residents of Chebeague Island, which is part of the town of Cumberland. The state justified the seizure by saying it was necessary to preserve affordable mainland access for the residents of Chebeague Island.

According to Cumberland Town Manager Bill Shane, the private owner of the parking lot was not going to renew the lease of the parking lot held by the private ferry service that runs between the two Cumberland County islands. Shane said Thursday the state paid the parking lot owner $900,000 for the property and now leases it to the town of Cumberland for $1 a year.

In 1999, the towns of Isle Au Haut and Stonington jointly purchased a waterfront property in Stonington. Stonington wanted the property to provide public access to the water, while Isle Au Haut wanted it to give island residents a place to load supplies onto boats and barges to transport to the island.

The site in Stonington, unlike that in Manset, has not been developed to provide parking and ferry service for island residents, according to Stonington Town Manager Rich Avery.