40-unit affordable housing development breaks ground in Skowhegan

Courtesy / Office of Gov. Janet Mills Gov. Janet Mills and other officials break ground Tuesday on the Mary Street Apartments in Skowhegan.

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By Jessica Hall

The Mary Street Apartments, a planned 40-unit affordable housing development in Skowhegan, broke ground on Tuesday, marking the start of four projects to be built or renovated under the Maine Affordable Housing Tax Credit program.

The tax credit program is an $80 million investment over eight years, representing the single largest state investment in housing in Maine’s history. Projects using the tax credit are beginning in Skowhegan and Portland this year, with over 185 new affordable units.

“The people of Maine asked us to tackle affordable housing so we’re doing that from many angles, including incentivizing new construction and renovations that will become affordable units like the project here in Skowhegan,” Maine House of Representatives Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, said in a news release.

According to the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition, nearly 31,000 renters — 1 in 5 Maine renters — pay more than half their income toward housing costs. For every family living in an affordable, federally subsidized unit, nearly three families are on a waiting list.

In the release, Gov. Janet Mills noted that the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan invested $60 million to expand housing options that are affordable for Maine workers and their families to own or rent. MaineHousing gained an additional $38.6 million in funding by refinancing and purchasing bonds at lower interest rates.

Fecteau and Mills joined officials from Skowhegan and the Kennebec Valley Community Action Program at Tuesday's ceremonial construction start.

The Mary Street Apartments will be built by E.W. Littlefield & Sons Inc., which is based in Hartland.

“The need for affordable and quality housing in rural Maine is immense. This KVCAP development in Skowhegan will provide 40 new housing units for area families and will also include green space, a community room, onsite laundry, ADA accessibility and access to KVCAP's public transportation system,” said Suzanne Walsh, CEO of the Kennebec Valley Community Action Program.