Meet the Agent Behind the MHD Architecture Cover Story
Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty agent Linda MacDonald is featured in the Maine Home + Design Architecture issue cover story this month for her work helping her clients find the perfect piece of waterfront land to build their dream home.
The land was perfect for these buyers even though it was extremely challenging to build on. The property included streams, wetlands, and a ravine that divided the parcel in two. With help from a team recommended by MacDonald, including architect Kevin Browne, landscape architecture firm Terrence J. DeWan and Associates, and M.R. Brewer construction, her clients came up with a creative solution to build a bridge over the ravine.
“I couldn’t be happier for the beautiful family now calling this incredible project home,” says Linda MacDonald. “They knew what they wanted and were open to finding it or creating it themselves. This waterfront lot in Freeport had been on the market for over a year, and while it had dramatic ocean views and was privately tucked into a lovely combination of mature hardwoods and pines, it hadn’t sold because it was cut in half by a ravine and was riddled with setbacks.”
“The best part of any challenge is how it forces you to embrace a unique perspective that often creates unparalleled results. In this case, the outcome was extraordinary. My clients had impeccable taste and vision and led the team we put together with focus and respect. Watching the collaboration among them all was not only impressive but heartwarming. When the construction project was done, a ribbon cutting took place with the entire family there. On one side of the ribbon was my client’s family, and on the other was a family of builders, architects, landscapers, and designers clapping and cheering for an experience, and a breathtaking legacy property that will be treasured for years to come. They even graciously threw a fun party after it was furnished for all. I am so excited about the memories they will make here. I have the best job, in the best place in the world.”
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Read the opening from the Maine Home + Design cover story below and the full story here.
A few years ago, a Maryland-based couple started looking for a home in Maine. Their youngest daughter was living in Portland, newly married with a small baby; with three other daughters and a growing flock of grandchildren, they wanted a place where the family could come together by the water and where they could eventually retire. There were few such homes on the market, and not much buildable land. Finally, their realtor, Linda MacDonald, brought them to a waterfront lot in Freeport. It was a beautiful piece of property featuring streams, wetland, and old-growth forest at the shoreline—along with the building restrictions that come with each element. “It was challenging in the best sense,” says the owner. “We had a feeling that something special could be built here.”
Aware of the challenges, MacDonald called in a team of consultants to meet the prospective owners on-site. This group would become the core team of the build. Architect Kevin Browne sketched out some ideas, and the landscape architecture firm Terrence J. DeWan and Associates was commissioned to carry out a feasibility study. “We looked at the land, reviewed the rules and regulations, and came up with an answer that said, yes, we can do something here. We have these two slivers of buildable land that have been created by all these limiting factors,” recalls landscape architect Steve Thompson, who worked on the project with colleagues Amy Segal and David Truesdell. “It was an incredibly challenging property to develop, but not insurmountable. And the reason it wasn’t is because of the team.” Builder Matthew Brewer of M.R. Brewer describes the eventual site plan as “four major projects in one: a main house, a pool house, a bridge, and a granite-crib dock. Any one of those would have been a big project by itself.”
