WESTBROOK, Maine — A new development in Westbrook is looking to put a dent in the city's housing needs as the housing crisis in the state deepens. A study estimates the state needs to come up with nearly 80,000 homes by 2030.
New Ventures LLC and Avesta Housing are partnering to build a 186-unit mixed-income housing community near downtown Westbrook, offering workforce, 55-plus, and market-rate homes for rent.
"I think the benefits of having a mix of housing types at one site really shows a cross-section of our community and people can coexist and live in the same place together, but it also helps with the separation of cost and shared costs associated with developing a housing facility like this," Michael Foley, the Mayor of Westbrook, said.
The community will be built in three phases, and each unit is roughly 500 square feet. Construction on the first phase—a 65-unit apartment building—is underway and is expected to be complete by January 2025.
The majority of units in this building, Seavey Terraces, will be dedicated to workforce housing. Those eligible for workforce housing in this new community make 80 percent or less of the median income for the area, according to developers. In Westbrook, the median income for an individual is nearly $39,000, and $71,000 for a household.
"These are people who are school teachers, who are nurses, policemen, firemen. They couldn't live in the community that they worked in, so that's what we're trying to do," Jack Soley, co-owner of New Ventures LLC, said when referring to a previous workforce housing project that inspired this new development.
A second 61-unit apartment building will house people 55 years and older who make 60 percent or less of the area's median income. The President and CEO of Avesta Housing Rebecca Hatfield said MaineHousing's low-income housing tax credits will serve those who are eligible.
"The more that we can bring developments like this to the table and make them happen, the faster that we can address the crisis that's in front of us," Hatfield said.
A third apartment building will offer a combination of the three housing options.
Phase one will be complete in early 2025, and Soley estimates construction on the 55-plus apartments to begin in June 2024.
Soley said the project is many tens of millions of dollars with construction costs for each unit at about $230,000.