A planned workforce housing project for Sunday River Resort, Maine, has become the subject of a lawsuit, with developer High Tide Capital LLC alleging the resort backed out of a long-term lease agreement just weeks before the first apartments were scheduled to open.
One of the struggles ski resorts have been facing for years is trying to find a solution to provide housing for their seasonal employees. Sunday River Resort is no exception and has been seeking to alleviate the problem through a workforce housing property development in Rumford. The resort had planned an $11 million redevelopment across two downtown properties, including six apartments and a 55-bed workforce housing facility, in partnership with developer High Tide Capital.
High Tide Capital now claims that in October 2025, just days before the six units were to be ready for occupancy, and with High Tide ready to acquire a building permit for the workforce housing project, Sunday River backed out of the agreement. According to the lawsuit, High Tide Capital is seeking compensation for monetary damages it has sustained. The company works with communities to rehabilitate historic buildings like those two properties in Rumford’s downtown.
Maine is the most sparsely populated state east of the Mississippi River, and more than 80% of its total land area is under forest cover. It’s a great state for people who love getting away into the great outdoors; however, that presents problems for businesses like ski resorts looking for seasonal workers as well. Sunday River Resort is just like any other ski resort in the United States with regard to finding a way to house its workers during the season. It maintains a seasonal staff of around 1,200 employees during the ski season, and finding housing for those essential workers can be difficult.
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Rumford is about 30 minutes away from Sunday River Resort, which is an average drive for a ski resort employee. The problem is how to house and transport Sunday River’s approximately 1,200 employees in an already tight housing market. The six apartments would be leased to Sunday River Resort for five years at $1,300 per unit per month, while the 55 beds of workforce housing would be leased for 10 years at about $638 per bed per month, according to the lawsuit. The housing project was at the KeyBank and Bangor Savings Bank buildings in Rumford.
In January 2025, High Tide and Sunday River executed a Letter of Intent formally outlining the terms of the project. Construction on the 119 Congress Street building began in April 2025. High Tide secured $5 million in loans and grants from the bank and the town. Rumford was to contribute more than $500,000 over multiple years. In June of 2025, High Tide was informed that the lease agreements had been passed on to Boyne’s corporate leadership team for final approval, according to the lawsuit. However, by July of 2025, the deal started to collapse.
The legal complaint was filed this month, meaning the court battle is in its very early stages. High Tide’s leadership noted they have spent months coping and reorganizing since the deal collapsed. The future of the planned 55-bed workforce housing building at 118 Congress Street remains completely stalled.