SKOWHEGAN, Maine — A project to renovate the former Skowhegan Spinning Mill for use as a hotel and apartment complex could be set back by more than three months after severe flooding from the Kennebec River in the wake of Monday’s storm.
“Water started coming in,” Zack Pike, who heads Pike Project Development, said Wednesday. “By 5 in the morning, it was over your ankles. And by 6 in the morning, it was up to your hips.”
Pike Project Development is the firm in charge of the multimillion-dollar renovation project, which was expected to hold 41 apartment units in addition to the hotel.
The force of the swollen river upended chunks of pavement, gas tanks, and left standing water to freeze into large rinks around the mill. A buoy warning for a hydro station even ended up in at the site, dozens of yards from the riverbank.
In addition, sediment from the Kennebec River settled into a thick, stubborn layer on the first floor of the building, which is planned to house hotel amenities.
Pike and his colleague estimate the total damage at roughly $3 million. It's a blow to a project that was just months from completion. The hotel was slated to open in February.
“It's sad to see all the hard work and dedication of everybody kind of get lost,” Pike said.
Despite the setback, Pike and others are determined to soldier on and keep the project alive.
“We’re not running from the water, and we’re not scared of it," Eric Pfeffer, the project manager, said. "We’re gonna…figure it out.”
This sentiment, it appeared Wednesday, is one shared by the wider community.
Pfeffer said he has received calls from strangers asking to help clean up damage to the building, which stands in Skowhegan’s downtown as reminder of its deep industrial roots.
It's unclear when the hotel and apartment complex would fully open, but the feeling among contractors is that opening is a certainty.
"We know we’re going to get to the finish line,” Pike said. “We know we’re going to pick our tools up as soon as we get them dried out. We know we’re going to keep moving forward with the project.”