BANGOR, Maine — The University of Maine System board of trustees committee made a unanimous decision to sell 4 acres of unused land at the University of Maine at Augusta-Bangor to Bangor Housing, enabling the development of a new housing project for people ages 55 and older.
According to Samantha Warren, UMS director of government and community relations, said the university will sell the campus property located at the continuation of Sunset Avenue near Sunset Meadows apartments for its appraised value of $160,000.
Cindy Witas, development director for Bangor Housing, said the corporation plans to build 50 apartment units, with 48 of those units being one-bedroom apartments and two of those units being two-bedroom apartments.
Witas said the land Bangor Housing will purchase from UMA Bangor sits on an adjoining property that the corporation already owns.
With the sale, Bangor Housing will be able to extend a 50-apartment construction project, referenced as Phase One, that is already in motion.
The new senior living housing project is Phase Two of the corporation's construction plans, and it will allow Bangor Housing to build a total of 100 apartment units in the area.
The $17 million project will be funded by Maine Housing through tax credits once an application for funding is submitted and approved.
UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy said the shortage of housing in Bangor makes selling this unused university owned land to Bangor Housing a no brainer.
"Bangor needs additional housing," Malloy said. "We're members of the community, and we intend to be partners on a regular basis and seeing those communities have the ability to reach their targets and get to reach their goals."
Witas said Bangor Housing spent countless hours planning and reviewing applications for housing, looking to determine who in the community needs housing the most.
"We have a wait list for our units that we currently own that is several years long, and at the top of the list are the elderly people. People who have worked all their lives and who are struggling to pay rent," Witas said.
Witas said because the new housing development will be built in the university area, aging Mainers will have easy access to the community connector bus system, stores, health care facilities on Union Street.
She said through a partnership with UMS, aging Mainers will also be able to use some amenities available on the UMA Bangor campus, like the dental care center. The ability to use on-campus amenities will give residents living in the apartments access to things they need at a lesser cost, Witas said.
"We want to make sure that people have transportation and health care, and we want to make sure we enrich people's lives and not cause them pain or make it more difficult," she continued.
Witas said the city of Bangor and UMS have played key roles in making this senior living project possible. Witas said permits for the build have already been approved, and the design for the apartments are complete. She said the corporation hopes to break ground sometime next year.
But Malloy said the new build will positively impact the whole community, not just the seniors who will occupy the new living spaces.
"You also have to calculate that those folks are coming from another place, and those places, those homes, those apartments become available for the general population as well," Malloy said.
Michael Myatt, executive director for Bangor Housing, said the land is close to a homeless encampment located behind the Hope House, but he said he has no concerns about the construction projects close proximity to the area.
Myatt said he believes the city is doing its best to help people experiencing homelessness gain access to the resources they need, and he said he hopes there won't be much of a concern at all by this time next year.