CONCORD, N.H. – This will be one fall foliage season without any views from the Balsams.
The northern New Hampshire resort where the first-in-the-nation presidential primary ballots are cast is shutting down, at least temporarily, on Sept. 15.
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That’s the day the Tillotson Corp. planned to transfer ownership of the 150-year-old hotel and grounds to a new owner, Ocean Properties. Ocean planned to close the Balsams Grand Resort Hotel for renovations and reopen it in 2012. But the sale fell through, the Tillotson Corp. said Thursday.
The Tillotson family has owned the resort since 1954. Before he died in 2001 at the age of 102, Neil Tillotson, who started the tradition of hosting the first votes at the resort in 1960, specified that it be sold or given away and the proceeds go to charities.
As the search for a buyer resumes, Tom Deans, managing trustee of the Neil Tillotson Trust, said Friday the resort will still close. The hope is to reopen in December; a board of directors meeting is slated for later this month to discuss options.
“It was a surprise to us, and obviously we are concerned for the North Country, for our employees, our guests and everyone,” Deans said. “We thought we were on a path where we had an arrangement with Ocean. We knew what their approach was going to be. A path certain is a lot easier than having a lot of unknowns, which we have now.”
More than 90 potential bidders expressed an interest in the 7,700-acre property. The deal with Ocean Properties was first announced in March. It was expected to be completed by the summer when Ocean Properties asked for an extension.
Tom Varley, senior vice president of Ocean Properties in Portsmouth, did not return a phone call Friday seeking comment on the company’s decision. The hotel management firm has a record of preserving historic hotels, such as the Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle.
A partnership between Ocean Properties and Scarborough Downs wants to build a racetrack with slot machines and a resort hotel in Biddeford, Maine.
The Balsams employs about 300 full- and part-time workers depending on the season, making it one of the largest employers in the North Country. It usually closes from late March until Memorial Day, then stays open until late October. It reopens in late December.
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