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July 28, 2021

Saco Island townhouses get green light from city planning board

rendering of duplexes COURTESY / SACO ISLAND VENTURES LLC A rendering shows the layout of 24 residential units approved for the east side of Saco Island.
By Staff

A proposal to construct 24 three-bedroom residential housing units on the undeveloped east side of Saco Island won approval from the Saco Planning Board Tuesday night.

The six-acre landlocked parcel on the banks of the Saco River has been vacant for decades. The owner, Edward "Ted" Moore, bought the property from developer Bernie Saulnier in July 2019. Two months ago, Moore's plan received a required approval from the Saco River Corridor Commission.

“This property has languished as an under-performing eyesore on Main Street for far too long,” Moore said in a news release. “I think Saco taxpayers will be pleased that the planning board’s decision puts an end to inertia that has lasted for decades.”

The land on the east side of Saco Island produces about $8,000 a year in property taxes, and has long been blighted. Moore has said the development, consisting of 12 duplex townhouses, will generate more than $200,000 in annual taxes.

Moore is a principal of Saco Island Ventures LLC and of the Forge Collection, which manages apartments, offices and other commercial spaces on the west side of the island. Since it began work on the west side of Saco Island in 2018, the Forge Collection has invested more than $7 million to develop 43 apartments and commercial space in the mills on the west side of the island, which is divided from the vacant east side by Main Street.

The company said its goal is to increase the residential and commercial vibrancy on the island to support nearby businesses and the transportation center, in harmony with the city’s effort to update its comprehensive plan.

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