A partially defunct ski area in northern Maine was listed for sale Monday for $27 million after a developer’s big plans for it fell through over the summer.
It’s the first time that Big Moose Mountain Ski Area has been publicly listed for sale in over 30 years. The listing includes the 1,200 mountainside acres that make up the ski hill as well as more than acres of farmland and 4 miles of shorefront along Mountain View Pond.
The ski area being listed might come as a surprise. For the last few years, the property has seen some notable redevelopment efforts led by Perry Williams, a developer who had a $126.3 million plan to create a year-round ski resort there. In May, Williams revived those efforts, but the property’s listing agent said Tuesday that any deal “went off the table” in July.
“He couldn’t raise the funds, so he declined to move forward,” Rodney Folsom Sr., the designated broker-owner of the Folsom Realty Group, said. “Now the owner that’s owned it for 30 years has decided to put all his holdings on the market.”
Williams could not be reached for comment on why the deal fell through, but Chuck Wagenheim, the president of the Moosehead Outdoor Alliance said it was because the price of development became so high that the investment group backing Williams “got cold feet.”
That deal falling through is the latest chapter in a frustrating story for the Greenville community, which is eager to see something happen with the mountain. It is owned by James Confalone, who in 2022 appealed a judge’s ruling that his company owed the state $4.5 million for illegal timber harvesting and failing to maintain the ski area that he bought in 1995.
“Our whole community wants it open, but it’s a challenge,” Wagenheim said. “We’re encouraged that at least the owner, who has tied our hands up for a long time, wants to get rid of it, but that’s a lot of money. We have to find someone with deep pockets.”
The ski area had once been a regional draw and major economic engine for Greenville. It is still operated by the nonprofit Friends of the Mountain, but officials in the area see it as a potential economic driver for the Moosehead Lake region.
“It’s not only going to bring in a lot of tourism dollars, but a lot of jobs, and year-round jobs,” said Rodney Folsom Jr., who is Folsom Sr.’s son and co-listing agent on the property, and also serves as Treasurer of the Moosehead Outdoor Alliance.
According to the property listing, Friends of the Mountain has invested more than $1 million in capital improvements and maintenance. The Moosehead Outdoor Alliance also added 14 miles of mountain biking trails to the area in recent years, according to the property’s listing.
Williams’ redevelopment plan for the mountain was “pretty aggressive,” Wagenheim said. Many community members took issue with its scope in town meetings.
“We want a ski area, but we don’t want to be Disneyland,” he said. “We want backcountry trails, but on a scale that’s more in line with the character of this region.”
Though there’s been no solid leads on buyers yet, Folsom Sr. said he’s seen some interest already. His son said the likelihood of finding someone to purchase the area increased with the additional land added to the listing.
Regional conservation groups have met informally to discuss buying the property but don’t have the funds, Wagenheim said. He would like to see a company that owns ski areas buy the property but hand it over to a nonprofit like Friends of the Mountain to continue running it.
“We want to see a plan that has economic viability,” he said.
