BANGOR, Maine — The Bangor Planning Board has approved plans to construct a dormitory-style building to help people who aren’t able to rent an apartment or buy a home get access to housing.
The 21,000 square foot building will be constructed at Stillwater Avenue and will offer co-living housing, with 55 single rooms and 45 parking spaces.
“They have common living spaces, like a common kitchen, and they might have a living room or something they share,” Bangor City Planner Anja Collette said.
The building is intended to operate like an affordable extended stay hotel for transient workforce in the area.
Collette said 25 percent of the building will be used for short-term living at fewer than 30 days, and 75 percent will be used for long-term stays.
“The purpose of that is really to help provide flexibility for people with different situations, so if somebody is just moving to town, maybe they don't have an apartment lined up yet, they can just stay there for a little bit of time, or somebody might be interested in living their longer term,” Collette said.
The city has been working to change some of its zoning regulations, hoping to reduce barriers to create housing.
The planned site on Stillwater will be the first of its kind in Bangor, making strides to improve the city’s housing market.
“There's a significant gap between our community's housing demand and housing supply,” Peter Malia, operations manager for affordable housing developments at Penquis, said.
Penquis is a nonprofit that helps low- to moderate-income individuals.
Malia said connecting folks with affordable housing through projects like this can be redefining for their lives.
“Any or all new housing really does make the market more tenable for low- to moderate-income households,” Malia said.
We reached out to 416 Stillwater Avenue LLC, the company behind the project application, for more information about when construction is expected to start but did not hear back.
The city does require that construction begin on a project within a year of the planning board issuing a land development permit.