MOUNT DESERT, Maine — Northeast Harbor—like many places in Maine—has become more expensive to live in. To counter that trend, local nonprofit Mount Desert 365 is trying to build and rent affordable housing and keep the community alive year-round.
Currently, the organization has three apartments it rents out to tenants who must live in town and agree to not sublease their space.
However, Kathy Miller, the executive director of Mount Desert 365, hopes to increase that number to over 35 in the next 10 years.
"Every community needs to have enough people to make it function," Miller said. "Housing is at the heart of all that."
That goal has not always had unanimous support. Over the summer, seasonal residents appealed the town’s approval for Mount Desert 365 to build a six-unit at the corner of Neighborhood and Manchester Roads.
In the meantime, Miller said the organization plans to develop a site it owns on Summit Road.
"[We will] probably structure it as a condominium so there is shared ownership of the land around them, but they own their own portion of whatever structure they build," Miller said.
The plan is to sell the properties then at a subsidized price to future year-round residents.
Affordability is still a barrier for current residents.
Sally Hulme and her husband lived in Connecticut for more than 30 years because even decades ago they could not afford Northeast Harbor.
"To get a four-bedroom house, you are looking at over a million dollars and I don't make that," Hulme said.
It was not until her parents passed away that she could return to her hometown.
"Otherwise, we could not afford a place on the island," she said.