T he summer scent of freshly turned earth pervaded the site of L.L. Bean’s new Outdoor Discovery Schools facility in Freeport at last Friday’s ribboncutting ceremony.
“Whether you’re a first-time participant, a moderate user, or experienced enthusiast,” he said, “the Outdoor Discovery Schools and this facility will help us take that programming to reach a new level and that’s really, really exciting.”
The Outdoor Discovery Center, located off Lower Flying Point Road overlooking Brickyard Cove, replaces three structures that were originally used to support a 45-site RV campground that existed on the site prior to L.L. Bean’s purchase of the lot.
“We were doing our best to run programming out of those buildings that weren’t specifically designed for our unique purpose,” said Gretchen Ostherr, L.L. Bean’s senior manager of Outdoor Discovery Schools. “I’m very pleased to say that those buildings have all gone away now and we have this beautiful facility to support our programming and, most importantly, our participants and our customers.”
Meets LEED standards
The center was designed by Cambridge, Mass.-based architects Symmes, Maini & McKee Associates, and meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards. L.L. Bean currently has 18 buildings that meet LEED standards, said Mac McKeever, L.L. Bean’s senior public relations representative.
The general contractor on the project was PC Construction Company, from its Portland branch; Sebago Technics, of South Portland, were contracted as the civil engineers; the sitework was carried out by Scott Dugas Excavation, of Yarmouth; and Sabra Property Care, of Portland, was contracted for landscaping.
The building has a multi-purpose room to be used as a pre-adventure gathering room, said McKeever, and also has offices for staff, locker rooms, restrooms and storage for equipment.
The Outdoor Discovery Center is a “jumping off point for the variety of trips and tours that we conduct out of that property,” said McKeever, which include cycling, kayak and paddleboard expeditions.
Storage areas
“For me the biggest impact is going to be the storage downstairs,” said Emily Smaha, supervisor of programs at the center. “We have a wet storage room downstairs now that’s nice and big and wide open, and it has a dehumidifier so our gear is going to get nicely dried now every night.”
There is also a new dry storage space, Smaha said, “so we can actually reach the items that we need as we’re prepping and packing for trips.”
“The whole downstairs makes me so happy,” she added. “I’m just so happy that we don’t have to work in a cramped space anymore and we have this beautiful facility to welcome people in.”
For more information about L.L. Bean’s Outdoor Discover Schools and a list of programming, visit www.llbean.com/llb/ods.
rgargiulo@timesrecord.com
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