BTLT is Moving!

BTLT is expecting to move our offices to a building adjacent to our Neptune Woods property at Brunswick Landing by this summer.

The building is owned by Brunswick Landing Community Collective Development Group (BLCCDG) – which has developed many spaces for community on the Landing, including the YMCA, REAL School, Senior College, Flight Deck, and Wild Oats.

The new space will alleviate the significant space crunch we currently face in the office, while also providing organizational amenities like a place for storage of stewardship tools, a board meeting room, and a more accessible location for those who have a hard time with the stairs that currently lead to our office. In addition, we look forward to being an important part of establishing an environmental and outdoor resource center in the building – where we will partner with other groups to provide community engagement with the land.

The building, at 179 Neptune Drive, is located in the Recreation and Open Space district of Brunswick Naval Air Station Master Reuse Plan, which includes some 510 acres. The eastern part of this district runs roughly from Rt 24/Gurnet Road on the north, through BTLT’s Neptune Woods Preserve, and to the Town’s Kate Furbish Preserve on the southern end. The other section of the district includes and surrounds the Mere Creek Golf Course.

“The intent of the 510-acre Recreation and Open Space district… is to provide suitable areas for a variety of commercial and public active and passive outdoor recreational opportunities for the community. Recreational activities could include public parks, recreation fields, golf courses, public gardens, bicycle trails, and equestrian facilities,” Brunswick Naval Air Station Reuse Master Plan.

Surrounded hundreds of acres that have been set aside for conservation and recreational uses, the building where BTLT is moving is exceedingly well situated to provide a community hub for recreational and environmental engagement. Our hope is that ultimately the building will house a range of conservation, recreation, and environmental education community groups. They will work individually and collaboratively in the space to serve community needs and facilitate engagement with the adjacent recreation and conservation lands. BTLT will be a cornerstone tenant, and this location will provide us with an ideal location for meeting our mission: Our office will be in the building, but the facility will also act as a space for us to offer events, gather for outings, and provide educational programming.

We have also been coordinating with other community organizations. Cathance River Education Alliance (CREA) is planning to move their office to the building, and we are in discussions with the Bicycle Coalition of Maine on hosting a new branch of the Bikes for All Mainers project in the building, and with a regional effort being led by the Quimby Family Foundation to establish a gear library. There is a community member interested in establishing a gear hub that would host bike repair workshops for the community and also provide rentable bike workbenches for individuals.

A huge thank you to Jane’s Trust for their support, which will help us with our move to the new location, as well as exploring community engagement of other organizations at the building (as well as expanding our educational efforts, and increasing collaboration with CREA).