A seven-acre parcel at Cross and Main streets in Bethel is being developed for 38 condos by Tony Donovan of Spectrum Real Estate in Portland. Foundation work is to begin soon and the project is expected to be completed in about 12 to 18 months, he said. Alison Aloisio/The Bethel Citizen

BETHEL — The site for a 38-unit condominium complex at Bethel Station has been cleared, and site work is expected to get underway soon, according to the developer.

Tony Donovan of Spectrum Real Estate in Portland said last week that the plan calls for the foundation for the Residences at Bethel Station to be laid in the next 60 days. Completion is expected about 12 to 18 months after groundbreaking, he said.

The seven-acre parcel is part of a 25-acre subdivision created in the 1990s.

The complex will feature a community room and fitness center, storage for bikes, skis and other gear, three acres of open space with trails connecting to others nearby, and electric vehicle charging stations, according to Donovan. There will be one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with six of the ground-floor condos having attached garages. All of the units will have patios or decks with views of the mountains and the Androscoggin River. The condos will range in price from $540,000 to $840,000, he said.

This graphic, provided by the town of Bethel, shows the layout of the 38-unit condo project at Bethel Station at the corner of Main and Cross streets.

Eventually, Donovan said he hopes to restore the old barn on the site and perhaps use it for a restaurant. And he still holds on to the original intent for the overall Bethel Station development – to support a passenger train service from Portland to Montreal. That plan was part of the 1990s project, and there was in fact a ski train to Sunday River from Portland for a time, but it did not last for financial reasons. The condo project, Donovan said, is “to tell the world that we’re ready for the train phase.”