| Union Leader September 12, 1994 Kimball Castle Restoration Plan To Be Reviewed GILFORD - A developer who is proposing a $2.5 million restoration of historic Kimball Castle will present a revised site plan for the project to the Gilford Planning Board on Monday, Sept. 19. Don Leavitt and Rick Miller of Bear Island Restorations of Meredith, have told officials they hope to be able to start work on the project this fall. Gilford Town Administrator Dave Caron said the developers will need a variance from the town's Zoning Board of Adjustment to exceed height restrictions before the planning board will grant approval of the plan, but doubts that will be a major problem. He said the financing package is the key to meeting the terms of the original agreement signed by the town and Bear Island and expressed confidence in the ability of the firm to deliver an acceptable plan which should enable them to start work soon. A financing package of one-third bank financing and two-thirds private investor funding is being developed through Merrimack Corporate Financing of Salem and is awaiting approval from the state agency which oversees securities offerings. Leavitt and Miller say the restored castle could become the premiere country inn in New England, and attract a new kind of tourist to the Lakes Region. Town officials have been working with the developers to ensure the restoration will preserve the character of the castle while remaining economically viable. The experience that Leavitt and Miller have in historic preservation, was a key element in the town agreement to work with them on the project according to Caron. Bear Island successfully restored all six buildings on the 60-acre Red Hill estate in Center Harbor, where they now operate a country inn and restaurant, as well as the Plymouth movie theater. The developers say they hope to complete the project, which would see a three-story 6,000 square foot addition built next to the century-old stone castle, by June 1 of next year. The castle itself will be carefully restored. Plans call for creation of 20 guest rooms, four of which would be in the castle, four more in the addition, and the rest in several other buildings on the property, including the former Lakeport railroad station, which will be moved onto the 14-acre site. The addition will house a lounge on its bottom floor and a 120-seat restaurant on the second floor, with the third floor guest rooms connected to the original castle by a corridor. As part of the project, a new $750,000 access road will be built from Rte 11 up Lockes Hill, where the castle is located, and terraced gardens below the castle will be restored. The castle was built nearly 100 years ago by railroad magnate Benjamin Ames Kimball, president of the Boston-Montreal railroad. The Lakeport Railroad station, built in 1901, was owned by the same rail line.
|
|
©2004 Peter K Kimball |