What's being planned at the Boothbay Harbor Country Club?
Paul Coulombe is excited about the future.
The Boothbay Harbor Country Club owner has built a new driving range, redesigned the golf course, and has expanded the club's grounds (over 70 acres have been added to the course, according to Coulombe) since his purchase of the facility in October 2013.
He has also received criticism from some in the community for other changes, including cutting down a large section of trees at the corner of Route 27 and Country Club Road and buying many properties in the area, including several around the Boothbay Common.
However, Coulombe said his main goal is to make the entrance to Boothbay near the common a safer area for motorists and pedestrians.
“There are crosswalks and lots of places to turn into, and it can be dangerous,” Coulombe said. “My number one goal is to make it safer, while also being aesthetically pleasing and attractive to tourists.”
Coulombe isn't done with improvements to the country club, either. Besides the newly redesigned entrance way to the course off of Route 27, a new clubhouse that dwarfs the previous one is planned.
“The new clubhouse will be over-the-top, 32,000 square feet with spectacular views. It will be around 10 stories above the first fairway with spectacular views of the course,” Coulombe said.
Coulombe said the majority of the work being done to create the new entrance will be finished on time, May 1 of 2015, but that the entrance won't be used until May 2016.
“Members will continue to use the current entrance road; the new entrance won't be viable for another year,” Coulombe said. “But it will look much better by this summer, the walls will be up and the pond will be ready. Not all the landscaping will be done, of course. They are on schedule despite the weather; it's quite an undertaking.”
Future plans currently include a spa, guest cottages, tennis courts and pools.
Coulombe also plans to create a second entrance to the club through the area now occupied by the closed Center Cafe, which Coulombe purchased in December 2014. While there will be an entrance there, the land will not become part of the club.
Coulombe said he has been visiting the Boothbay region during the summer since he was a child, and loves the area.
“I remember coming here in the 1960s,” Coulombe said. “I'm really into boating, and as I got older I looked into buying property here. I was able to build my home on Southport.”
“I want to make the Boothbay region a true destination, a place people come and stay at rather than just a stopover.”
Related:
Country club awaits major makeover
Changes at the Boothbay Harbor Country Club
