Hartland Tannery

Maine Redevelopment’s first acquisition into our land bank was the Hartland Tannery. This project spans multiple programs as we are also providing municipal technical assistance by hosting community visioning sessions and applying for local and federal Brownfields clean up grants.

Originally the site of a woolen mill, the site was operated as a tannery from 1936 to 2020. Multiple mergers, consolidations, and bankruptcies, coupled with the environmental contaminated, clouded the property’s title and marketability. Due to its existing infrastructure and redevelopment potential, the site was also identified in the Maine Community Energy Redevelopment Program (MECERP).

Throughout 2025, Maine Redevelopment patiently worked to have existing mortgages discharged, facilitated proper environmental and structural due diligence, and finally acquired the property from a bankruptcy trust in January 2026. Maine Redevelopment is focused on a phased approach to with meaningful community involvement in the future of the site though partnership with University of Connecticut’s Technical Assistance to Brownfields Program (UCONN TAB) and the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (KVCOG). The Hartland project demonstrates how Maine Redevelopment intervenes when neither a private developer nor community has the capacity or risk tolerance to redevelop a site.