CONWAY, N.H. (AP) – An unlikely alliance could bring to life an ambitious proposal for a lodge and nature center at the gateway to the region’s commercial strip.

The New Hampshire Audubon Society is joining forces with Settlers’ Green, a major retail developer and manager, to build the center on land owned by the Audubon Society.

The groups says it’s a win-win, with the Audubon Society getting a new nature center and Settlers’ Green getting the benefit of more visitors and potential shoppers to its other properties. Though plans have yet to be finalized, David Houghton, president of the Audubon Society, said the groups hope to break ground on the project during the next two years.

The plans include a lodge with about 100 rooms and suites; an education center; an Audubon retail store; and nature trails to the Saco River.

Settlers’ Green would run the lodge and retail store, and Audubon would staff the education center. Houghton has estimated that the center could potentially draw 60,000 to 80,000 visitors a year.

He said the idea is to make the main building blend into the landscape as much as possible.

“Audubon has the final decision on the plans and how to go forward,” Houghton said. “We are sort of the green guardians of this. We want to make sure that when somebody is visiting, there is that seamless feeling between the lodge side and the environmental education side so that they feel like they’re at an Audubon facility.”

The facility would be built on 56 acres near the junction of routes 16 and 302. The property was donated to the Audubon Society during the 1970s by sisters Helen and Ruth Dahl.

“(Helen) is a big supporter of Audubon, and we promised we would try to put a center there because it would reach so many people. I’m very fond of Helen, and I want to make that happens in her lifetime,” Houghton said.

Ruth Dahl has passed away.

The Audubon Society has other nature centers in the state, but this would be its first lodging facility.

The two parties were separately mulling future plans for the area when a local real estate agent and developer brought them together.

Dot Seybold, general manager of Settlers Green, says the whole community will benefit from the project.

“This partnership gives North Conway a tremendous opportunity to benefit from the prestige of having a state-of-the-art science and nature center just steps away from the commercial heart of the valley,” Seybold said.

Houghton said the partnership was critical for this project.

“We at Audubon are right now working on two other center expansions, so we are raising a lot of money for both of those. The idea of going into a capital campaign for this center was probably not realistic with our capacity,” he said.

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Information from: The Conway Daily Sun, http://www.mountwashingtonvalley.com

AP-ES-04-10-05 1025EDT