Last updated: February 16, 2024
Article
Acadia National Park Maintenance Facility
NPS Photo
Project Vision and Purpose
The National Park Service (NPS) is constructing a new maintenance facility at Acadia National Park. This new facility will provide park staff with enhanced facilities to better serve visitors and protect park resources. Funded by the Great American Outdoors Act, the new facility will provide maintenance shops, equipment support space, restrooms, offices, meeting rooms, parking, and an updated septic system. The benefits of the new facility include an efficient workplace, lower energy costs, decreased fuel consumption, and improved safety and accessibility. By providing staff and volunteers with the best tools, the NPS will be able to better care for Acadia National Park and preserve its beauty for future generations.
The maintenance facility will be relocated to a new spot at the park headquarters on Eagle Lake Road in Bar Harbor, which will:
- enhance views from the Cadillac Summit Road;
- remove maintenance functions from the Eagle Lake watershed, which supplies Bar Harbor’s drinking water; and
- allow the continuation of maintenance functions during construction.
The National Park Service placed sustainability and efficiency at the center of the design process. The facility was designed to LEED Silver specifications. The new facility is designed to last more than 50 years, reducing waste and long term operating costs. The facility design allows for the NPS to add a rooftop solar photovoltaic system to the structure. The NPS is pursuing this system through a separate funding initiative. The existing maintenance structure will be recycled, and after construction is completed, park staff will revegetate the surrounding grounds.
NPS Photo
Facts and figures
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Square footage including outbuildings: 31,398
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Total cost estimate: $32.6 million
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Number of parking spaces: 118
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Contractor: Nickerson & O’Day (Brewer, Maine)
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The new facility is designed to last more than 60 years.
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The Department of Energy awarded an AFFECT grant to the National Park Service to install a roof top solar photovoltaic system to the structure.
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The existing maintenance structure will be recycled.
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After construction is completed, park staff will revegetate the surrounding grounds.
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The McFarland Hill campus is 10.5 acres. Construction will generate 1.6 acres of net new disturbance.
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The volunteer in park program which is most closely aligned with the maintenance operations brings $1.2 million worth of benefit to the park annually.
Project Updates
February 13, 2024 - Foundation footings poured
The construction contractor poured the first set of footings - or concrete with rebar reinforcement that provides the support and foundation to the building above. From these footings, the structural steel will be erected and the Metal Building framework will be attached that will form the finished maintenance facility. See photos in our media kit.
January 17, 2024 - Department of Energy awards NPS $1 million grant for solar panels and electric charging stations
Acadia National Park received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to help install rooftop solar panels and 12 electric vehicle charging stations at park headquarters. In addition, Friends of Acadia (FOA) secured a $500,000 grant from the National Park Foundation for the solar project and committed to donate two electric vehicles to the park.
The proposed energy conservation measures supported by the AFFECT grant are a roof-top photovoltaic (PV) system and twelve bidirectional electric vehicle charging stations (EVSE).
The addition of a PV system, right-sized for Maine's climate and with financial feasibility in mind, would move the building and park towards net-zero emissions by generating over 50% of the new facility's energy use.
By generating direct energy cost savings of $60,800 per year, the AFFECT energy conservation measures (ECMs) will pay back in 16.1 years and will continue to accrue savings for the park for the remainder of the system's useful life. The AFFECT-funded PV project would generate 308,384 kWh/yr and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 74,654 kg CO2e while simultaneously furthering the park's understanding of the technology and benefits.
September 25, 2023 - Blasting begins on site
Contractors began to blast the granite ledge to create the footprint for the new maintenance facility. By removing the granite ledge, the team will be able to have a place to build a sturdy foundation for the new building.
April 29, 2023 - Groundbreaking Ceremony
Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau visited Acadia National Park for the groundbreaking of a new year-round maintenance facility at park headquarters in Bar Harbor, Maine, made possible with a new $32.6 million investment from the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA).
The Deputy Secretary and Acadia National Park marked this milestone in the maintenance facility project with a groundbreaking ceremony, attended by Senator Angus King, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, and other community leaders. Learn more.