Former Eastport cannery slated for $18 million renovation

The way downeast city of Eastport got a huge boost with the news that a Kansas City developer has agreed to partner on an $18 million plan to renovate the former 30,000 square foot American Can Building on the waterfront.

The brick structure was built in 1908 to make cans for the sardine industry and more recently was used by salmon farmers. It has been vacant since 2004.

Dirigamus LLC, which has owned the building since 2003, has partnered with the Arnold Development Group of Kansas City, to turn the building into a boutique hotel with residential and retail space. A website devoted to the project (15seastreet.com) notes the redevelopment also will include historical displays and exhibits. This is Arnold Development’s second project in Maine. Their first was the redevelopment of the 60,000 square foot Mayo Mill in Dover Foxcroft, Maine. The local owners of the building told the local Quoddy Tides newspaper that they hoped to complete the Eastport renovation by 2018. “Many residents of Eastport and surrounding communities earned their living in this building, and stories of the hard work and good times among the workers still abound today,” states a release on the 15seastreet site. “Dirigamus LLC partners Meg McGarvey, Linda Godfrey, and Nancy Asante, working with others, intend to create spaces and places which will honor our fishing history, showcase local creativity, and share nature’s abundance in and around Passamaquoddy Bay.”