Dixville Notch, NH (NEWS CENTER Maine)-- Les Otten likes to fix things. After moving to Maine in 1972, Otten bought Sunday River Ski Resort 8 years later and turned it into one of the premiere ski destinations in the northeast.
In 2001, he helped form the current ownership group of the Boston Red Sox and spent 5 years as a minority owner with the task of 'saving' Fenway Park. His newest labor of love is located in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, the Balsams.
"I'm still very optimistic that we will be able to complete the project."
Otten purchased the historic venue back in January of 2014, almost 5 years later, he is still waiting to get to work on the physical restoration of the property that opened in 1895 and provided first class serviced and amenities year round.
"bringing that back seems to me to be easy. It was great once, it can be great again"
Bringing the Balsams back won't be cheap... It would be much easier for the almost 70 year old multi-millionaire to sit back and relax. Those who know Otten realize that's not an option.
"Unless I want to retire, which isn't something that's in my vocabulary, this is an opportunity to build something for the next decade which will be meaningful to the region, to the state of New Hampshire, to the Western part of the state of Maine, and the opportunity to create something from something is irresistible to me" said Otten.
For more information on the Balsams, click here: https://thebalsamsresort.com/