Despite mud, Harbor House project slogs on
BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER
The reconstruction and rearrangement of the Harbor House village continues full bore regardless of the weather.

ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent The new hotel emerges at the corner of Easton and South Beach streets.

Frequent travelers on Easton and South Beach streets are now well aware of the six-foot green fence that partially hides the frenzied framing of buildings one and two of the new Harbor House.

"By the start of next season, we expect all the first phase buildings' exteriors to be fully completed," said Nantucket Island Resorts spokesperson Kathy Burns. "These buildings include the two buildings on the Mad Hatter Lot (Buildings One and Two) as well as the Springfield and Manchester Houses and Buildings Six and Seven on the other corner. All outside construction will stop on June 15."

Those who have not seen the project unfold will notice that all eight townhouses along the north side of the main access road to the Harbor House have been razed. A new large building on the corner of South Beach and Easton streets, Building One, is 80 percent framed, while next to it Building Two has its first floor walls standing.

Down the block, on the corner of North Water and Easton Streets, the Manchester House has a new foundation and is newly sheathed and rough plumbed. Next to it, the recently sheathed Springfield House's new foundation is 50 percent complete.

Burns said that next season some of these buildings will be open for business.

"Building One will be the first building open for guests next summer, followed by Building Six, Two, Seven, the Springfield and Manchester houses," she said.

Harbor House owner and Nantucket Island Resorts CEO Stephen Karp secured a major commercial development special permit from the Planning Board on Jan. 9, 2006 and Historic District Commission approval later that spring to demolish around 30,699 square feet of hotel space and build 67,371 square feet of new space.

The razed Harbor House townhouses will be trucked to an off-island land- the south side of the main access road. Burns said that this new demolition work will occur during the winter of 2008/2009, along with the flattening of the rest of the townhouses.

Karp is also rerouting the main entrance road off South Beach Street and will build seven new structures that will make up the new hotel. He is reducing the number of guest rooms from 112 to 98 with a total capacity of 305, building a new 25-meter lap pool and situating four new buildings around it.

An addition to the existing main building includes new function rooms and an 8,000-square-foot spa with treatment rooms, a relaxation solarium, fitness room, locker rooms, sauna and whirlpool along with a small salon. A small trash building is also part of the plan.

Meeting space, now at 3,785 square feet in the Madaket, Sankaty and 'Sconset rooms on South Beach Street, will be reduced by 1,500 square feet to 2,340 square feet with the elimination of the three buildings.

The main entrance road will be lined with parking spaces as it passes the pool and takes a jog north, running into more parking that will face a new building on the corner of Easton and South Beach Streets where the Mad Hatter Restaurant used to be.

Karp is providing 76 parking spaces, widening a section of South Beach Street by five feet and providing complimentary shuttle service to Steamboat Wharf in an effort to keep guests from bringing vehicles to the island.

Shooting for a September 2009 completion date, Burns said Karp will keep the project going for 24 months straight, doing the exterior work Sept. 15 through June 15 and interior projects during the summer when no outside work is allowed by the town. In addition to meeting his finish date, Karp's main goal is not to disturb

his guests throughout the project. I