Portland is preparing for the end of high-speed ferry service to Nova Scotia.

Bay Ferries Ltd., the company that has operated the service for the past three years, is expected to unveil a proposal next week to restore a town-owned ferry terminal in Bar Harbor and restart service from there to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. If that happens, the company plans to eliminate its service from Portland.

The loss of the high-speed ferry, called The Cat, means people from the Portland area and south would have to drive at least three more hours to board a ferry for Nova Scotia. But Portland officials say the ferry’s departure would open up opportunities for waterfront development.

“We are in a fortunate position. We have a very active, busy port,” Portland Economic Development Director Greg Mitchell said Wednesday. “We have had conceptual discussions that recognize if the real estate was not needed for the ferry service, it could be used for something else.”

That something else could be a new pier between the Maine State Pier and the Ocean Gateway terminal, essentially an extension of India Street, Mitchell said. Such a development would run straight through a 3.4-acre paved area where cars currently queue up to board the ferry. The area is part of a city-owned parcel that stretches from the state pier to Sail Maine at the end of Thames Street.

“If we were to do that, we would also look at possible reconfiguration to support access and use for a new pier,” Mitchell said.

In June, the City Council’s economic development committee agreed to delay pursuing redevelopment of the state pier, near the ferry terminal, because if Bay Ferries decided to leave Portland it could free the area up for potential development.

Luxury condominiums and the new headquarters for Wex, a global payment-processing company, are under construction across Thames Street from the ferry terminal. Sandwiched between the developments is a new AC Hotel.

“We have been making investments to support attracting private sector investment, and we are in the fortunate position that it is happening,” Mitchell said.

SERVICE COULD START IN 2019

At the Bar Harbor Town Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Bay Ferries is expected to present a formal proposal to renovate an unused ferry terminal and restart service to Nova Scotia that was discontinued in 2009.

Last month, Bar Harbor voters overwhelmingly approved a $3.5 million purchase of the ferry terminal from the state of Maine.

Bay Ferries CEO Mark MacDonald, in an email, confirmed The Cat would probably relocate from Portland if the Bar Harbor plan is successful.

“If service was to resume from Bar Harbor, discontinuance of service to Portland would be likely,” he said.

His company intends to lease space from Bar Harbor, and plans would be developed in close consultation with the town and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, MacDonald said. Bay Ferries hopes to start Bar Harbor service next June.

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