Financing included MaineHousing’s allocation of $3.9 million in 4% low-income housing tax credit equity, which was invested by WNC & Associates, an Irvine, Calif., firm focused on affordable housing.
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Avesta Housing’s first development in the Franklin County town of Farmington is due to open next week, with a ribbon-cutting scheduled for 1 p.m. on Feb. 25.
Edgewater Village, at 126 Willow Springs Drive, was built for people aged 55 and up. The 19,744-square-foot building has 25 one-bedroom apartments, each with 576 square feet, in a rural area that includes a pond, woodlands and walking trails, about one mile from downtown amenities and the University of Maine’s local campus.
The building has an elevator and the bathrooms are equipped with grab bars and extra space for ease of mobility. Rents range from $851 to $972. Utilities are covered in the lease rate.
“Every town in Maine has residents who are seeking to downsize to smaller and easier-to-maintain homes while remaining in the communities where they have lived and worked,” said Jennifer Hawkins, Avesta’s president and CEO. “Unfortunately, too often there are very few options that are affordable and accessible.”
That’s especially true in rural communities, she said.
“Edgewater Village exemplifies Avesta Housing’s commitment to build homes across the state of Maine that are not only affordable but are energy-efficient, accessible for all mobility, and designed to reflect the community’s distinctive character,” she said.
Multiple funding sources
The $9.5 million development was partly financed through MaineHousing’s allocation of $3.9 million in 4% low-income housing tax credit equity, which was invested by WNC & Associates.
WNC & Associates, headquartered in Irvine, Calif., with offices in 16 states, focuses on affordable housing. WNCE and its affiliated companies have invested in hundreds of affordable rental properties across the U.S.
Additionally, more than $5 million came from other funding sources, including the Federal Home Loan Bank, Maine HOME, a community development block grant, private philanthropy and energy rebates from Efficiency Maine.
The federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program is a housing program run by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It gives states and local governments grant money to build, preserve or support affordable housing for low‑income households. It’s the largest federal block grant dedicated solely to affordable housing.
Maine HOME refers to the Housing Opportunities for Maine (HOME) fund, a state‑created funding source established in 1982. It uses part of Maine’s real estate transfer tax to support new affordable housing development as well as down‑payment assistance, home repairs and shelter services.
The development team included Kaplan Thompson Architects in Portland, Hartland general contractor E.W. Littlefield & Sons, legal representation from Curtis Thaxter in Portland and Walsh Engineering in Westbrook. Other partners were the town of Farmington, Efficiency Maine, Franklin Savings Bank and the Caleb Group, a Lynn, Mass., nonprofit affordable housing organization that serves people with low to moderate incomes.
Dan Brennan, MaineHousing’s director, credited Avesta as “a strong partner in producing much-needed high-quality affordable housing.”
Established in 1972, Avesta is a nonprofit providing affordable housing development and property management in Maine and New Hampshire. Headquartered in Portland, it operates 100 affordable properties, more than 3,000 apartments and two assisted living facilities, serving more than 4,000 people. An additional 1,100 new homes are in the development pipeline.