PORTLAND (AP) -L.L. Bean is prepared to buy 33 acres of land on Coskery Point in Freeport to accommodate its kayak Outdoor Discovery School, company officials said Monday.

The deal, worth an estimated $2.6 million, was set to close Tuesday.

The property, which includes 1,200 feet of coastal frontage, is the site of the former Flying Point Campground off Flying Point Road, about five miles from Bean’s downtown Freeport location.

The purchase will allow Bean to move its kayaking school operations from Wolfe’s Neck on the Harraseeket River inlet to Coskery Point.

“It was one of those opportunities that came up rather quickly,” said Jim Gorman, manager of real estate for L.L. Bean. “Thirty-three acres on the water doesn’t come up on the market very often. When it did come, we felt the need to take advantage of it.”

Bean runs a variety of Outdoor Discovery School programs.

“It’s a way to bring the Bean brand to life,” said company spokesman Rich Donaldson. “It’s a brand differentiator.”

Alan Atkins, an attorney for property owner Hilda Coskery, said neither he nor his client would comment before the transaction was completed.

The property on Maquoit went on the market late last fall.

Freeport town planner Donna Larson said the planning board reacted positively to Bean’s concept for Coskery Point during a preliminary workshop last month.

“We would prefer to see that use as opposed to a housing development,” Larson said. “In terms of protecting open space, this is certainly something else we need to consider.”

It’s a form of eco-tourism.”

Gorman said the company has been conducting soil and other environmental tests on the property for several months.

AP-ES-05-06-03 0216EDT



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