Saddleback Announces Trailside Employee Housing Project

UPDATE: On November 30, 2021 Saddleback announced a $1.5M philanthropic pledge to support development of affordable workplace housing. The donation is being made by Susan and Fritz Onion in collaboration with Venn Foundation. Read the announcement at the Saddleback website.

In June 2021, the Maine Land Use Planning Commission granted Saddleback a development permit allowing them to construct employee housing designed to meet the lodging needs of its growing workforce. Providing housing options for the workers of the Western Maine region is one of the community based priorities of Saddleback's owner Arctaris Impact Investors.

Named the Saddleback House, this building will be constructed trailside just below the Mountain Brook condominiums and will be the first ski-in/ski-out employee housing project in Maine. Rooms can hold 1-4 people with access to shared living, kitchen and dining spaces along with spaces dedicated to store ski gear. Saddleback indicates staff rents will be affordable. Employees will be able to start and end their day on skis eliminating the need to drive to work each day. This is good for the environment and super convenient for Saddleback's first-in-class workforce.

The construction complete date is targeted for November 2022. Saddleback is also working on other housing arrangements for its workforce for the upcoming 2021-22 ski season and plans to release more information on these options soon.

More information about the Saddleback House can be found on-line and we have included some additional drawings in this post below. By devoting prime on-mountain real estate to employee housing shows the holistic approach Saddleback is taking in managing the ski area. Well done Saddleback and we are looking forward to seeing this project develop!