What
is happening to the house at Fogg's Corner in New
Gloucester?
The venerable house that has stood at the corner of
Route 231 and North Pownal Road has seen some activity
of late. Owner Mike Jacubois sold it to the October
Corporation, the real estate arm of the Libra Foundation,
and October Corp. took possession of it last week.
The property abuts the Cunningham property, and Vice-President
of the Libra Foundation Craig Denekas told The Monument
that their interest in the Fogg's Corner property
was to round out their holdings abutting the Cunningham
Farm.
"We purchased the Cunningham property to save
it from development. We were told one developer planned
to have some 80 houses on that site. October Corporation
took possession of the Fogg's Corner house from the
prior owner just last week, so we are continuing to
assess the structure and the building systems. A neighbor
had asked us to sell the property to him to which
we agreed and entered into a purchase and sale agreement,"
Mr. Denekas stated.
However, after a building inspection, the neighbor
elected not to proceed with a purchase, citing the
deplorable condition of the house. Neighbors became
concerned when they had heard unofficially that the
house was to be razed.
However, Libra/October has had discussions with the
Director of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission
regarding the house and are continuing to evaluate
their options. The house and two acres are being offered
for sale for $250,000, "slightly less than what
we have into the property," Mr. Denekas said.
They hope to have someone purchase the property who
has experience with old houses and knows more how
to stabilize a house which has been allowed to deteriorate
badly by prior owners, he said.
