In 2022, the nonprofit Friends of Acadia set a goal to add 130 new bedrooms for seasonal workers at the national park over the course of 10 years.

Next summer, new construction will add 56 rooms and bring the number completed to 122, five years into their plan.

“This time next year will be really exciting,” said Perrin Doniger, vice president of communications and marketing at Friends of Acadia.

In 2024, at a ribbon-cutting for another new complex, Superintendent Kevin Schneider said Acadia National Park had only been able to hire 115 seasonal workers out of 175 authorized in recent years because of housing challenges, according to the Bangor Daily News.

Amanda Pollock, a spokesperson for the park, declined to say this week how many people Acadia is trying to hire this year, but acknowledged the persistent challenge of housing on Mount Desert Island.

“In the past several years, our hiring managers have found that prospective Acadia employees are struggling to find housing on their own,” Pollock wrote in an email. “In many instances, if hiring managers cannot offer housing to prospective employees, the prospective employees will not accept a job offer.”

Next year could be different. As part of a project called Harden Farm, Acadia is building 56 bedrooms that should be available for 2027, the biggest step yet in addressing the housing shortage.

“Employee housing makes it possible for the National Park Service to recruit and retain the best and brightest rangers who work hard to provide essential visitor services and keep Acadia National Park open and accessible,” Pollock said.

The project is funded with a combination of private and federal dollars.

“Thanks to generous donations from Friends of Acadia and the National Park Foundation, along with significant federal funds, seasonal employees at Acadia will have a place to live,” Schneider said in a December news release.

Friends of Acadia raised $10 million for Harden Farm in Bar Harbor and a smaller housing project called Dane Farm in Seal Harbor. That money unlocked $21 million in federal matching funds and $2 million from the National Park Foundation.

The new accommodations take different forms. Friends of Acadia funded the renovation of three bedrooms in existing park housing and purchased a former bed-and-breakfast in Southwest Harbor that added 10 bedrooms. The nonprofit acquired six, two-bedroom townhomes in Trenton that opened last season with priority for Island Explorer bus drivers. Dane Farm was new construction that opened last year with eight rooms, and the nonprofit also helped create a campground with 13 spaces for employees who travel by RV.

Harden Farm is the largest project so far. The site has been home to eight apartments for seasonal workers since the 1960s, and the expansion is under construction now.

Eric Stiles, president and CEO of Friends of Acadia, said a 2023 study found more than two-thirds of workers at Acadia National Park could not afford to live within a one-hour commute. Those costs are making it harder to attract and retain employees, he said, which affects the overall experience at the park.

“No matter what your favorite thing is about Acadia National Park, it’s dependent on talented staff,” Stiles said.

Stiles estimated that the rents at Harden Farm will likely cost between $500 and $1,000. The next hurdle, he said, will be working toward more affordable options for year-round employees, as well.