Upcoming News For The 2024 Season
Your new host, Michael Powers, is planning exciting new features for the Carriage House.
New Baths In 14 Rooms
We have renovated 14 motel room baths. They will be ready for our 2024 opening on May 1.
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This is an article that appeared in the Portsmouth Herald in August of 2023.
WELLS, Maine — The new owner of the Carriage House Motel plans to renovate and expand the historic Post Road destination.
The Wells Planning Board on Aug. 7 accepted a site plan pre-application from Michael Powers, of Omaha, Nebraska, who purchased the property at 1404 Post Road earlier this year.
Powers, a retired engineer and current real estate broker and financial adviser, is the project manager for the local proposal. He owns properties throughout the country. During an interview, he said the Carriage House Motel is his first investment in Maine.
“The Carriage House Motel has a lot of historic charm and value,” Powers said. “I’m trying to preserve what I can of that.”
If approved, the project would involve adding six units to the motel, relocating two existing units, replacing the existing swimming pool, and reconfiguring the roadways and parking lot.
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At the Planning Board meeting, architect Chris Cannon represented Powers.
Plans call for the one-story wing of the Carriage House building to be demolished and replaced by a two-story addition with an expanded footprint, according to town documents.
Two current units would be relocated elsewhere on the property to improve access for first responders in the event of an emergency.
The motel’s parking lot would be reconfigured to come into compliance with the town’s bylaws.
The proposal also calls for the current swimming pool to be removed and replaced with a new one elsewhere on the property.
“It’s deficient at this point,” Cannon told the Planning Board. “It has some leaking issues which are beyond challenging to fix.”
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Planning Board members will take a site walk at the motel on Wednesday, Aug. 16, at 6:30 p.m.
The main carriage house was built in 1900, according to Powers. The site has operated as lodging for at least 100 years, he added.
Powers said he already has had a lot of fire-protection measures put in place on the property and is currently committed to having a sprinkler system installed in the Carriage House this year.
“We’ve made a lot of upgrades this year,” he said.
Powers said given the processes involved with the town, his bank and his contractor, the start date of the renovation is yet to be determined.
“When I do commence it, I hope to be done in one fell swoop,” he said.
Powers is no stranger to renovating historic properties. In 2015, the Chatham Historical Commission in Massachusetts presented him with an award for his efforts to preserve the Foggy Notion, an 1870 residence.
The Carriage House Motel is not the first project for which Powers and Cannon have teamed up. The two worked together on the Foggy Notion renovation, as well.
Powers said he recently discovered the beauty of the Southern Maine coastline and, in particular, loves Wells and its beachfront. In taking on the Carriage House Motel, he said he is hoping to create a middle-class, high-end resort that will allow people to enjoy the community and nearby beaches.
“I’ve always loved historic preservation works,” he said. “I want things to be as beautiful as possible.”
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Carriage House Motel in Wells eyes renovation and expansion project