Dealing with growth Signs of the struggle are everywhere. In Warren, property owners are fighting to stop the state from widening a rural, farm-lined stretch of Route 1. In Blue Hill, the local hospital is planning to build an apartment complex for its nurses. In Belfast, MBNA is planning to build 150 apartments and condominiums because housing is so scarce for its employees. And Mount Desert Island officials are talking about building dormitories for summer workers because tourism in and around Acadia National Park is booming and temporary housing is so hard to find.
Permanent housing is even more expensive and scarce for year-round workers on Mount Desert Island.
With more than 1,000 employees, Jackson Laboratories in Bar Harbor recently surpassed the Champion paper mill in Bucksport as the largest employer in Hancock County. Nearly two-thirds of the lab's workers commute from the mainland, said James Campbell, Bar Harbor's planning director. Other island workers are affected as well. Scott Wood recently moved from Florida to work as the director of product management for the Hinckley Yacht Co. in Southwest Harbor. He is leasing a home in Bass Harbor while he looks for a house on the mainland.