Courtesy / 55 Weston Ave. LLC
The development team of 55 Weston Ave.: From left, Brian Eng, Kara Wilbur and Sam Hight.
August 31, 2022
A proposal for affordable housing in Madison moves forward
Courtesy / 55 Weston Ave. LLC
A rendering of 55 Weston Ave., an affordable housing development in Madison with 36 units.
The area around Skowhegan and Madison and surrounding Somerset County has a dire need for rental housing, particularly affordable housing.
In Skowhegan alone, the vacancy rate is under 1%. At the same time, the area is seeing a surge in interest with projects like GO Lab's redevelopment of the Madison mill.
But the effort to develop affordable housing took a key step forward this week.
At a special town meeting in Madison on Aug. 29, residents backed a plan for the town to sell a parcel to be used for development of up to 36 affordable housing units at 55 Weston Ave. The deal calls for the town to sell the parcel for $1, though developers would not rely on TIF money or other local subsidies.
The effort dates back to last year, when Tim Curtis, town manager of Madison, approached a Skowhegan auto dealership owner about the need for housing there. There was available land, but the town hoped to get some momentum going with developers.
“Tim approached me after years of attempts by the town of Madison to find a developer or contractor to build housing on a vacant lot the town owned,” said Sam HIght, a principal at the Hight Family of Dealerships and a partner in 55 Weston Ave. LLC. “Due to the rising costs of construction, including increased costs of building materials, labor, and mortgage rates, traditional models and financing were not an option.”
But a financing program from MaineHousing, the Rural Affordable Housing Rental Housing Program, is expected to set the stage for development.
Hight also worked with Kara Wilbur, a designer and developer who had been at the Principle Group in Portland and who now lives in New Portland, 17 miles from Madison. She came up with a design for small-scale modular housing that could be built in Madison’s “infill” areas. The housing would provide for multifamily housing in traditional-looking residential buildings.
“We have worked really hard to design a building that can feel like it’s been part of the community for years, and not something dropped in and out of place in the neighborhood,” Wilbur said.
They also worked with Brian Eng, a Portland developer with experience doing large housing projects, commercial developments, hotels and restaurants. He also has the background on tax credits and Maine Housing finance programs.
“The Maine Housing Rural Rental Program offers a rare opportunity to remove the construction cost barrier and create new attainable housing for working families,” Eng said, “Using federal census data and their experience with financing housing development statewide, the program provides rent and income guidelines for creating the type of housing that the market fails to create.”
The town of Madison and the partners of 55 Weston Ave LLC entered into an agreement under which the Weston Avenue parcel would be offered for $1.
The lot currently houses a play area that is considered by many residents to be key open space.
Neighborhood concerns
At a planning board meeting in July, residents expressed concerns about the loss of the play area and potential impact on home values and rents in the area. They also worried that the units would be used for low-income housing, or Section 8.
The development team responded by inviting residents to a cookout where they listened to concerns and provided renderings. They also reduced the number of buildings from five to four, allowing for more open space.
Madison resident Megan Caudill, who lives across Weston Avenue, was initially against the project but has since changed her mind.
“At first I was completely against this project, because of the lack of communication and acknowledgment of the town’s feelings. However, the developers and town manager went above and beyond to rectify this and provide a new plan that would keep a place for kids to play as well as lessen the amount of apartment buildings — bringing forward a plan amendment to the planning board to formalize the change. I pray that these apartment buildings do become great affordable housing, bringing in friendly and kind people to better the neighborhood. I have hope this will be a benefit for our community.”
Hight said the Rural Rental program stipulates that the property remain workforce housing for 45 years. He also said, while many such projects depend on Tax Increment Financing, or a TIF, this does not. The developers will pay full taxes, putting this property on the tax role for the first time. The taxes received by the Town will cover the lost revenue from the discounted sale price within a few years. It’s estimated the project will pay $20,000 a year in local taxes.
“We are not out-of-state absentee landlords. We are people who are embedded in the community and who care about the local community” said Hight.
With the backing of residents at the special town meeting on Aug. 29, the project still needs approval from MaineHousing.
Phase 1 calls for two buildings with 18 units total. Phase 2 includes two more buildings and another 18 units.
The Phase 1 plans include two buildings and a total of 18 units. The revised Phase 2 plans will include two additional buildings and 18 units, totaling 36 units, as well as reserving space for a public park.
"We will continue to work with the Town and its residents to make this project a success and an asset to the community," Hight said after this week's vote.
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