In Gorham, construction on up to 390 housing units starts at Robie tract

A line drawing shows color blocks and outlines.

Drawing / Courtesy Sebago Technics, Town of Gorham The phased development includes single-family homes, with the first phase started in the area designated in red. Multi-family buildings are at bottom and preserved space is to the right.

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By Laurie Schreiber

The first phase of a housing development that’s planned to have 391 units broke ground in the Cumberland County town of Gorham.

The plan for the Robie Street Subdivision, on a portion of 131 acres bounded by Robie Street and New Portland Road, includes 295 multi-family units and 96 single-family lots, with 13 acres of open space.

KV Enterprises LLC in South Portland bought the acreage from the Robie Family Estate for $960,000. Charles Day of Porta & Co. brokered the deal.

“I had the property listed on behalf of the seller and was able to secure the buyer as well,” Day told Mainebiz.

The land had been in the Robie Family for over 150 years, said Day.

“The original owner was Frederick Robie, who was governor of the state of Maine from 1883 to 1887,” he said.

The property was on the market for a short period of time and went under contract after the first phone call.

“KV Enterprises is a long-term relationship/client I have had,” said Day. “I felt very confident in their ability to get the project permitted and approved with the town of Gorham. That was going to be the most important component to get the sale of the property closed.”

Growth area

The property is in close proximity to the downtown village area of Gorham and is within a “growth area” identified by the town’s 2016 comprehensive plan, which encourages higher-density residential development in more urban areas where the land is more accommodating to development and includes access to water and sewer, while avoiding more rural sensitive areas.

The plan includes building pedestrian connections to the village area and the school recreation field. KV Enterprises is providing 51 acres to be placed into conservation with the Presumpscot Land Trust, according to planning documents.

Housing options

"The real housing need in Gorham is to develop a greater diversity of housing options,” said Kevin Jensen, the town’s economic development director.” For those young professionals, possibly recent USM graduates who love Gorham, or people looking to downsize their homes, we do not have many options available for them. That is a customer base and local workforce that is badly needed by our local businesses.”

The Robie project will bring a mix of single-family and multi-tenant units, primarily efficiency and one-bedrooms, to an area that is walking distance to the downtown village. The diversified project will benefit the community at large, said Jensen.

“When we think about those young professionals and empty-nesters, those are customers for our small business retailers, restaurants and professional services,” he said. “They could also be employees or business owners in Gorham. For the Gorham business community to thrive, diversifying our housing options needs to be part of the overall strategy.”