A year after breaking ground at 101 Hancock St. in the downtown neighborhood of the Oxford County town of Rumford, Developers Collaborative’s 33-unit affordable rental project for adults age 55-plus has wrapped up.
Realty Resources Management in Rockport is handling leasing.
“This building is literally a cornerstone to the town’s continued efforts to revitalize, restore and rejuvenate our housing stock and help grow our economy,” George O’Keefe, Rumford’s town manager, said at the groundbreaking ceremony in 2024.
Age in place
Developed in partnership with MaineHousing and local stakeholders, the four-story building, with an additional lower level, provides one-bedroom apartments ranging from 546 square feet to 689 square feet and is designed to support aging in place, with 16 fully accessible units and seven project-based vouchers reserved for tenants with disabilities.
Affordability is structured to serve households earning between 50% and 60% of the area median income (AMI, with at least 60% of apartments reserved for households at or below 50% of the AMI.
Amenities include a community room with a kitchenette, laundry facilities, on-site management and 30 on-site parking spaces, including accessible parking.
Designed to complement the neighboring Strathglass Park District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, the building overlooks the Androscoggin River and offers walkable access to downtown services, J. Eugene Boivin Park and the Rumford Falls Trail.
Fire-damaged site
The project was a significant redevelopment effort of a site that was damaged by a 2020 fire and required extensive environmental remediation.
Public and private funders helped make the $11 million project possible. They included MaineHousing, CREA LLC, NBT Bank, the town of Rumford and the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.
CREA is an affordable housing investment company headquartered in Indianapolis, with an office in Boston.
The project team included Portland Builders Inc. of Portland as general contractor, Gorrill Palmer of South Portland as engineering consultant and Invivid Architecture of Portland.