ROCKLAND, Maine — On Monday, many Mainers did their best to spend some time outside, soaking in what will likely be some of the last warm days of the year. The beautiful weather came at a perfect time for volunteers with the Maine Association of Realtors, who spent a large chunk of their day helping out with a project in Rockland.
A new development at Firefly Field in the city is the result of a collaboration between the Knox County Homeless Coalition, Maine State Housing Authority, and the Midcoast Habitat for Humanity. It will consist of both homes and rental units. Organizers say once it's completed, it should be able to house up to 40 people.
"We’re really excited for the opportunity to serve the community," Tia Anderson, the executive director of the Midcoast Habitat for Humanity, said, later adding, "There has been a housing issue in this area and throughout the state for a long time. I think it just was heightened by COVID and post-COVID."
Anderson said discussion around this idea began more than five years ago. The plan is for the Midcoast Habitat for Humanity to manage the homes and the Knox County Homeless Coalition to manage the rental units. MaineHousing provided seed funding to allow the project the get off the ground.
"Our community has, I would say, risen to the occasion—getting more creative. Municipalities are working hard to address how we can diminish the barriers to affordable construction," Anderson said.
Anderson said a primary goal of this development is to help people succeed by giving them a sense of community. She said there's a big need for more affordable housing in the Rockland area.
"A lot of our restaurants are only open a few days a week because of not having a workforce," Anderson said, later adding, "We have to have a diverse population, and we need to meet the needs of all of our residents."
Carmen McPhail, the 2023 president of the Maine Association of Realtors, was one of the volunteers on site Monday. She said she has been in the industry for 25 years, but the past few years have been "unprecedented."
"A lot of people who are in the lower economic part of our economy have been priced out of housing," McPhail said.
McPhail said every time prices for homes go up, there's a "trickle-down" effect. The latest report from the Maine Association of Realtors indicates just over 1,500 homes were sold in Maine in August—down around 19 percent compared to August of last year. The median sales price is around $372,000, up nine and a half percent from a year ago.
"Affordable housing like this is more important than it has ever been," McPhail said.
No one from MaineHousing was available to speak to NEWS CENTER Maine on Monday, but communications director Scott Thistle said in a statement:
"This is a very unique type of development and we are all following along closely to see how it works out. MaineHousing is pleased we could help finance this innovative model and are hopeful it may prove to be yet another way to create affordable housing in Maine. Building our overall inventory of homes is going to be key to solving the housing shortages we are seeing in Maine and across the nation. More and newer housing stock for all income levels is going to be a major factor especially in a state like ours with such old housing stock."