The Boothbay Regional Development Corporation (BRDC) finalized the purchase of nearly 31 acres of land on Butler Road on Thursday, June 15th. The parcel was sold to the non-profit organization by Elbridge Giles, whose family has owned the land for generations. “It’s been a good piece of property for the Giles family,” Mr. Giles said while signing the closing documents.

The Giles family has been a Boothbay institution for generations, contributing to the creation of local gravel pits, cellars, water lines, and other excavation and blasting work. Before Elbridge, his grandfather and namesake, who passed away around the time he was born, mainly worked moving buildings by barge both locally and as far away as Monehgan. Donald, Elbridge’s father, took over E.A. Giles & Son providing excavation services, building roads, and installing foundations, wells, and septic systems. Elbridge began working with his father in his early teens, and they spent many Sundays working together on the land on Butler Road in the quarry, blasting out sea wall and wall rock. All trucks were loaded by hand until the mid-50s. To load big rocks, Donald had a set of tongs, and Sonny Hodgdon put up a boom in the quarry where they lifted rocks, backed a truck under it and put the rock back down into the body of the truck. In the mid-50s the first backhoe was purchased. If you ask Elbridge, he can name the exact model, an International 350 with front blade and a Pippin backhoe bought from Chase Farm Equipment. Elbridge has spent more than 70 years working up and down the peninsula, and when in his 30s, on Monhegan. He and his wife, June, married in 1962 and raised their family in West Boothbay Harbor. As many know, his stories about growing up and working in the area are countless.

At the closing table, Mr. Giles recounted stories about learning how to drive on the property, his time serving on the Boothbay Harbor Sewer District, Board of Selectmen and Board of Appeals, and expressed appreciation for being able to play a part in the development of new workforce housing in the area. “We’re glad to be a part of it,” Mr. Giles said.

BRDC’s initial plans for the property include extension of water and sewer service to the site. This work is planned to begin in the fall of 2023. The first of several phases of housing construction on the Butler Road site will consist of 24 for-sale condominiums targeted at households making less than 80% of AMI ($68,160 for a family of four in 2023). Future phases will include single-family and multi-family housing, both for-sale and for-rent.