WINTER HARBOR — More questions than answers continue to surround a proposal to develop nearly 3,200 acres of wilderness at the doorstep of Schoodic Point.

The nearly 3,200 acres of wilderness property (shown here in red) owned by an Italian family and other investors abuts the Schoodic Section of Acadia National Park. A proposed “eco-resort community” would incorporate shoreline and heavily wooded parcels in both Winter Harbor and the Gouldsboro villages of Birch Harbor and Prospect Harbor.—ELLSWORTH AMERICAN ILLUSTRATION BY CATHERINE MCKINNEY

Nonetheless, many of those who attended those meetings came away with few specifics and with lingering questions and doubts about the business plan being developed.

In those meetings, the concept described has included construction of at least one hotel, housing, an “eco-friendly” 18-hole golf course and an “ecological education lodge.” Original plans to build an airstrip have been abandoned.

The property at issue includes just over 3,000 acres in Winter Harbor and another 166.6 acres in the Gouldsboro villages of Birch Harbor and Prospect Harbor. The heavy wooded parcel extends across both sides of Route 186 and includes shoreline property along Moore Road and Sargent Island and extends to the entrance to the Schoodic Section of Acadia National Park.

Property tax records show the Gouldsboro parcels have a valuation of $172,000, while the properties in Winter Harbor are collectively valued at $1,270,000. As perhaps the largest undeveloped tract of land on the Maine coastline, the property’s actual value would be significantly higher than its tax valuations.

At approximately 3,200 acres, the rocky woodland terrain targeted for development is significantly larger than the Schoodic Section of Acadia National Park, which it abuts. National Park Service property includes 2,000 mainland acres and 400 island acres.

For more than 20 years, the property has been owned by a New York-based holding company on behalf of Bruno Modena of Milan, Italy, and his son, Victorio. There are other investors as well, who were not identified in the briefings held as recently as Tuesday afternoon.

“The presentation was almost entirely about the ecological vision of the owners, which seems very visionary but didn’t include any details,” said Denny O’Brien, who spent three hours Tuesday with a team of proponents as the executive director of Acadia Partners for Science and Learning.

Among those attending a two-hour briefing Tuesday afternoon at the Schoodic Education and Research Center was Katherine Heidinger of Winter Harbor, who is a member of Acadia Partners’ board of directors.

She’s among skeptics who wonder if the development concept is just a ploy to encourage regional conservation organizations to buy the property outright or to secure a conservation easement that would preclude development.

“I told them point blank that everybody wants to know whether the property owners are truly trying to develop this or are just leveraging a sale,” Heidinger said Wednesday. “Celia Ward, who said she represented the owners, was adamant that they want to pursue this concept of an eco-resort, although, even after a two-hour meeting, I have no idea what that means.

“She was very emotional,” Heidinger said. “She appeared to have tears in her eyes.”

Also attending Tuesday’s meeting at Schoodic Point was John Fuhrman, who is the code enforcement officer for both Winter Harbor and Gouldsboro. Both Fuhrman and Gouldsboro First Selectman Dana Rice encouraged the proponents of the project to outline and discuss the concept with the planning boards of both towns in meetings that would be open to the public.

O’Brien said he also has questions about the business case being made for the project.

“I don’t see how this is going to work,” said O’Brien, whose degrees include a master’s in business administration. “Given the seasonal nature of Downeast Maine, which is basically a resort destination four months a year, how will they make this work?

“They seem to have a very exciting ecological vision and want to create a new benchmark for eco-resorts, but I would be very interested in seeing what the details are. As I told them, the devil is in the details.

“I have no idea how this business model would work,” he said. “It’s their belief that there is a significant market for people who believe in an ecological vision to participate in the community.”

O’Brien said Acadia Partners appreciated the opportunity to discuss the project, noting that the group’s board has neither supported nor opposed the proposal.

“This is a huge tract of land between us and the rest of the world,” O’Brien said. “So it’s very important to us, but the plans at this point include few details.”

Sheridan Steele, the superintendent of Acadia National Park, said Tuesday he has questions about the Modena family and other investors.

“Who are the Modenas? We don’t know,” Steele said. “They’ve been very secretive, and it’s been very difficult to find out anything about them. Their consultants keep saying that there are other investors, but what makes it difficult is that they’re under cover.

“I do know that they have never done another development before. Never. And I really worry about developers who paint a pretty picture, and then things change. If I had to guess, I would say that’s where this is headed.”