18 one-bedroom units proposed for YWCA housing project in Bar Harbor
Photo / COURTESY, SWAN AGENCY REAL ESTATE
The YWCA of Mount Desert Island bought a 27-acre tract of land in Bar Harbor last year and has begun site work for a project to include affordable rental housing and other potential uses.
Two months after starting site work, the YWCA of Mount Desert Island is proposing to build 18 units of affordable rental housing at 891 State Highway 3, in a village of Bar Harbor called Salisbury Cove.
The Bar Harbor Planning Board recently considered a sketch plan review of the Hamilton Station Subdivision project and said a site visit will be scheduled.
The YWCA acquired the 26.8-acre parcel last year. The proposal involves dividing the acreage into two lots and using one of the lots to build a structure with 18 one-bedroom units. The structure would be accessed off Route 3.
The parcel, acquired in an off-market deal, included two big red barns, a farmhouse and a caretaker’s cottage.
Two structures were demolished as part of the site work, Greg Johnson, owner of Southwest Harbor civil engineering firm G.F. Johnston & Associates, told the board. There are no plans yet for the barns, he said.
Two Bar Harbor firms are also involved: A4 Architects is the architect on the project and Coplon Associates is the landscape architect.
A representative for the YWCA said it has scheduled a neighborhood meeting on the project. The planning board said it will schedule its own neighborhood meeting, too.
The board said further considerations will include paperwork needed if the property is subject to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s Voluntary Response Action Program; a Maine Department of Transportation entrance permit; a showing that the road meets standard; a fire department access turning template; and a stormwater management plan.
The YWCA has said the target market is year-round residents who did not qualify for subsidized housing but who are not earning enough to purchase a home in the escalating market — a group referred to as the “missing middle” in housing discussions.
The Y has had a presence in downtown Bar Harbor since 1913. The facility offers a variety of children’s and community programs as well as summertime dormitory-style accommodations — with a communal kitchen, bathroom and common spaces — for women.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments