VHB is helping Acadia National Park tackle an issue that is affecting parks nationwide: a shortage of workforce housing for seasonal and full-time park staff.
At a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Acadia National Park Dane Farm Seasonal Workforce Housing project on October 8, the National Park Service (NPS) announced the award of a construction contract for the first of two phases of the Harden Farm Employee Housing Project, another seasonal workforce housing development that VHB helped design.
Acadia is located on Mount Desert Island, where housing is difficult to find and unaffordable for most seasonal park staff.
The Harden Farm Employee Housing Project will help further close the affordable staff housing gap, providing a template that other parks can replicate across the country. The first phase includes four buildings that will provide 28 bedrooms. Design of the second phase that will provide 28 additional bedrooms in four buildings is ongoing.
VHB is providing overall project management for the multi-firm design team, as well as all civil engineering and site design services. Key VHB designers on this project include Julia Piraino, Tom Ferris, and Heather Hayes. Team members Tim Bryant, Eric Meredith, and David Senus also drove the project management team.
The project is designed to minimize environmental impact and clearing. The housing units will be arranged in a low-impact, sustainable layout that forms an attractive, functional building ensemble and creates spaces for outdoor use.
Read about VHB’s work with the National Park Service (NPS).
