Historic Maine Hotel Sold for $60 Million After Contractor Disputes

A well known coastal Maine hotel is being sold for more than $60 million after a wave of contractor liens and a bankruptcy filing tied to a major renovation project.

According to WGME, Tim Harrington, a hotel and glamping resort owner with several properties along Maine’s coast, has agreed to sell the Asticou Hotel in Mount Desert for $60.75 million. The buyer is NAECO LLC, a subsidiary of Ocean Properties, which already owns several hotels in the Bar Harbor area.

The sale comes after contractors claimed they were not paid for work tied to a $28 million renovation of the historic property. Harrington purchased the Asticou Hotel for $7 million in 2023, but by last fall, 11 contractors had filed liens against the hotel’s ownership group, The news station said.

In total, contractors and suppliers claim they are owed nearly $14 million for materials and services. Several Maine businesses later filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition in federal court, saying they had not been paid for completed work.

Among those claims, a Biddeford window company says it’s owed more than $58,000, while a Yarmouth flooring business claims more than $3,500. Two Saco based companies also filed claims totaling more than $129,000. A Mount Desert flower shop later filed a claim as well, saying it was owed more than $8,600.

Court records also show Harrington paid his bankruptcy attorney more than $178,000 before creditors forced the bankruptcy filing.

WGME went on to say that as of mid March, Harrington still owed $9.8 million to contractors and suppliers connected to the renovation. The agreement to sell the hotel came shortly after the bankruptcy filing.

Ocean Properties operates hotels across the United States and Canada. Meanwhile, Harrington’s company has also faced financial trouble elsewhere, with the parent company of Sandy Pines Campground in Kennebunkport filing for bankruptcy earlier this year.