Illustrated photo / Courtesy, Scittery Woods Partners LLC
The proposed Scittery Woods development would be adjacent to the Falmouth Police Station.
Updated: August 26, 2024
49-unit workforce housing proposal in Falmouth heads to planning board
Rendering / Courtesy, Andrew C. Hyland
The Falmouth Planning Board next week will consider a 49-unit workforce housing proposal, shown here in a conceptual rendering.
The Falmouth Planning Board on Sept. 3 will consider a pre-application sketch plan for a 49-unit workforce housing development.
“The need for affordable housing in Maine, in Greater Portland and in Falmouth has been well documented in recent months,” the town wrote in a solicitation published earlier this year.
Falmouth is the site of some of the priciest real estate in Cumberland County, which typically has some of the highest prices for single-family homes in the state. The county's median sales price for a home was $585,000 in the three months ended July 31, according to the Maine Association of Realtors.
The developer and applicant for the project is Scittery Woods Partners LLC, owned by Andrew Hyland, Kevin O’Rourke and John Finegan, according to the application.
Hyland is a principal of Port City Architecture in Portland. O’Rourke is a Yarmouth-based developer. Finegan is with the Boulos Co.
The Scittery Woods Workforce Housing Development is proposed to be on roughly 20 acres at 2 Marshall Drive, wedged between Woods Road to the north and the Maine Turnpike's Falmouth Spur to the south. The site is adjacent to 4.5 acres occupied by the Falmouth Police Station.
When the station was designed and constructed in 2006 and 2007, Marshall Drive, along with water and sewer lines, were developed in anticipation of a future development such as the proposed one, according to Falmouth town records.
Responding to a need
Earlier this year, the town published a request for qualifications in search of a developer that would work with the town to construct workforce housing on the parcel.
According to the solicitation, the median home price in Falmouth in 2022 was $804,500. But Falmouth’s median household income in 2022 was $133,033, enough to afford a home priced at $419,773.
“In general, in the Falmouth area, there is inadequate housing inventory of all types and at all price points,” the town said.
According to the town, a patrol officer there could afford to pay $1,563 per month on housing. A two-person household comprised of a firefighter and a bookkeeper could afford $2,235 per month on housing.
A four-person household with a full-time nurse and a full-time social worker could afford to spend $3,351 monthly.
“Most of the households like these and the households working at Falmouth’s large employers are unable to live in Falmouth or nearby,” the town continued. “Increasingly, with expensive transportation costs, potential Falmouth employees are simply unable to afford a home that is commutable to a Falmouth employer.”
“Increasingly, in Falmouth, many of the community’s largest employers have struggled to attract and retain employees,” the town said.
The town’s largest employers include:
- Falmouth town and school departments
- TD Bank
- Tyler Technologies
- Hannaford Supermarket
- Walmart
- Sedgewood Commons
- Shaw’s Supermarket
- Falmouth By the Sea
- Skillins Greenhouses
- The Woodlands Club
- Oceanview Assisted Living.
Development details
Scittery Woods Partners LLC and the town subsequently signed a development agreement that covers aspects of the development such as sale of the land, housing types, affordability, number of units, access, utilities, financing, efficiency and sustainability and project design and approvals.
The 20.2-acre parcel would be sold to the developer for $500,000.
The 49 multifamily units would be laid out along an approximately 663-foot-long extension of Marshall Drive, and a 161-foot-long spur driveway.
According to the application, the 49 units would be built in 14 three-story buildings. The units would be sold to the initial purchasers for no more than $425,000 each. A requirement would restrict the purchaser’s household income from exceeding 120% of the area median income for a period of five years following the sale. A covenant would be established to ensure the units are owner-occupied and the primary residence o the owner. Rentals of the units would be prohibited.
A 4-foot-wide sidewalk is proposed on one side of the street. The drive and the open space would be privately owned by a homeowners association. Each home would have a garage with its own driveway. The road extension and unit layout proposes to impact 5,152 square feet of “low value” wetland, the letter says.
The agreement specifies that a portion of the land will be dedicated open space open to the public and accessible by a pedestrian bridge to be constructed by the developer as part of the project. The developer also agreed to construct trails within the open area.
The developer would look into whether the project qualifies for Maine State Housing Authority financing programs; and would build the units to LEED Silver certification through the use of materials including highly rated insulation, heat pumps and other sustainable building materials.
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Kathleen W Miller - 365
September 3, 2024
I am curious about the income level restrictions AFTER the sale of the property as stated here: A requirement would restrict the purchaser’s household income from exceeding 120% of the area median income for a period of five years following the sale. Why would that be in place, and how could it be enforced? Does it mean the homeowners can't accept a raise or improvement in their wealth? And what happens if they do accept a raise? Will the home somehow be sold out from under them, and by whom?
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