Just over a year after Presque Isle’s Nordic Heritage Outdoor Center closed, the 750-acre recreational space and event venue is expected to reopen this weekend following the sale of the property to a newly created nonprofit.
Northern Maine Community Trails purchased the center from Pineland Farms of New Gloucester for $1 million, Chris Condon, the president of the nonprofit, said Monday.
The sale closed on Dec. 5, records with the Aroostook County Southern Registry of Deeds show, and Northern Maine Community Trails entered into a one-year mortgage with Pineland Farms.
The nonprofit has $110,000 in “firm commitments,” Condon said, adding that he believes the facility will be a good candidate for federal, state and private grants. Northern Maine Community Trails will soon launch a capital campaign looking to raise $1.5 million over the next year to cover the purchase and establish an endowment.
The City of Presque Isle, which itself considered purchasing the property at the same price this fall, was not involved in the purchase.
“What Pineland did for this community has just been awesome these last 25 years,” Condon said. “[But] it’s always been owned by somebody else and somebody from away. All of this property for the first time ever is now owned by, managed by and led by community members, and I just think that is a tremendous shift on mission and values and vision.”
The Nordic Heritage Center has been a fixture in Aroostook County since it was funded and built by the Portland-based Libra Foundation in 1999. It served as a world-class biathlon and cross country skiing facility that has hosted both national and international competitions, including the 2014 Biathlon Junior World Championships and races in 2010-11 and 2015-16 Biathlon World Cups.
The Libra Foundation, which owns Pineland Farms of New Gloucester, funded operations of the facility as a part of a 25-year gift to Presque Isle. That gift ended in December 2024, causing the closure. The facility went on the market in January with a $2.9 million price tag.
That same month, Condon and a large group then known as Friends of Nordic Heritage Center, met to discuss the future of the facility.
This September, as the Presque Isle City Council debated the merits of purchasing the property, Condon, the former CEO of United Insurance, proposed a joint public-private venture between the group and the city.
When that did not pan out, the group entered into talks with Pineland Farms alone in October, eventually tendering the $1 million offer. On Nov. 17, Friends of Nordic Heritage Center incorporated as a nonprofit under a new name, Northern Maine Community Trails, and moved forward with the purchase.
The new name reflects the four-season use of the property, Condon said, which in addition to ski venues is home to more than 20 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails and a disc golf course. The name also signifies the start of a new era.
“It’s going to be a lot of the same great things it was before,” Condon said. “But it’s not going to be a world-class biathlon center and training facility anymore, so we thought it made sense to come up with a new name that allowed us to start that new chapter of what this facility can be and how it can bring the most value to this community.”
It’s unclear yet whether the Nordic Heritage Center will maintain its name or be rebranded under new ownership. Condon said the nonprofit will gauge community feedback to determine that.
Several dozen people helped clean up the property on Sunday. A group of around 30 cleaned the main lodge, while others worked on the trails, which Condon said are in “remarkably good condition” despite a year without upkeep.
Thanks to a snowmobile given by the Ashland Nordic Ski Club and a snow drag loaned by Madawaska’s Four Seasons Trail Association, Northern Maine Community Trails will groom around six miles of ski trails this winter, roughly half of the property’s ski network.
With some trails already groomed and several inches of snow forecast for midweek, Condon said the group aims to have trails ready for the public by Saturday.
The facility’s primary mission is outdoor recreation and active and healthy living, especially focused on children, Condon said, adding that he’s spoken with the Presque Isle Recreation Department about how to open the facility to youth in the city and surrounding areas.
It’s unclear whether the lodge will function as an event center as it did under the Libra Foundation, where it was rented out as a venue for weddings and other events.
“We don’t know what that’s going to look like yet,” Condon said. “This has all come together so fast in the last few days. What we do know is that that building is an absolutely beautiful structure … And it doesn’t get enough use.”
Northern Maine Community Trails will host an informal meet and greet with the community on Wednesday at 6 p.m at the Nordic Heritage Center.
