Courtesy / Anew Development
Work on the Lewis H. Emery apartments in Westbrook is expected to begin in 2020.
October 4, 2019
Westbrook 91-unit senior development aims to chip away at waiting list
Courtesy / Anew Development
The Robert L. Harnois apartments in Westbrook are expected to be completed in December of 2020, a partnership between the Westbrook Housing Authority, Westbrook Development Corp. and Anew Development.
By Maureen Milliken
Work is expected to start later this month on the first phase of a 91-unit senior housing complex in Westbrook, part of an effort to chip away at the 2,300-plus list of people over 62 in the city waiting for housing.
The Westbrook Housing Authority, Westbrook Development Corp. and Anew Development are partnering on the development on property the housing authority owns on its campus at Liza Harmon Drive. Ground will be broken on the first phase, 61 units, Oct. 15.
Chris LaRoche, director of the Westbrook Housing Authority, told Mainebiz Friday that the authority has a waiting list of 2,339 people over 62, and more when those over 55 are added.
The first-phase Robert L. Harnois Apartments will be at 70 Ruth Hunton Court, part of the housing authority's campus. The second phase, the 30-unit Lewis H. Emery apartments, will be built next year on the seven-acre site.
The 60,000-square-foot Harnois complex, which will cost about $9 million to build, is expected to open in December 2020, said Ethan Boxer-Macomber, of Anew Development.
The development will take advantage of Low Income Housing Tax Credits, through MaineHousing, the state's housing authority. It will also make use of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Housing Choice Voucher program, which subsidizes rents for those who are disabled, homeless or in danger of becoming homeless.
City-wide focus on providing housing
The developments are the latest for the authority, which oversees 557 apartments in the city of 18,700, and just some of what's planned for the next few years.
LaRoche said the cooperation and support of the city government is key to developments like the Harnois and Emery ones, which are vital to helping the escalating housing crisis for senior residents. He said the community, itself, too, is supportive.
"There's a welcoming atmosphere," LaRoche said. "There's a complete understanding by the city government for the need for this type of housing. They don't put up barriers, they facilitate it. They get it."
Boxer-Macomber, whose Portland-based development company partners on senior and workforce housing projects, said, 91 apartments "may seem like a lot of apartments to put on the market at one time." But citing the Westbrook waiting list, said, "It's not even close to the need."
He said it's about more, too, than providing seniors with housing, but also providing them with "really wonderful communities."
LaRoche said one key to the development is that it's not only on the bus line, but also within walking distance of shopping, including Westbrook Crossing, which has a Shaw's supermarket, Kohl's department store, Dunkin' Donuts, Panera and more.
It's also close to the planned Rock Row mixed-use development, which will include 1 million square feet of retail, office, medical and residential space, beginning with a first phase that includes an 80,000-square-foot Market Basket grocery store.
He said the development will benefit those living in the new apartments in more ways than one.
"It's not only great for the amenities but elderly people still work," LaRoche said. "Not just for finances, but they work because they lives are not over, and it will provide employment opportunities."
The development will also include 2.5 acres of woodland with trails and benches.
Community connection
Both LaRoche and Boxer-Macomber said walkability and the connection to community are key for senior developments as the aging population grows and the benefits of connections become more obvious.
LaRoche said that one aim of the development is to make seniors less dependent on car ownership. Many seniors spend 20% to 25% of their income on cars. "Some higher if they have a car payment," he said. "One goal is to to assist them in being car-free, not only with where we're located, but also with some of the amenities."
The authority is upgrading all of its sidewalks to make them conform to Americans with Disability Act access rules, which have become more stringent since older developments were built and, besides being on the bus line, the new development will also have access to the Zipcar car-sharing program, or a similar one.
When LaRoche took the role of WHA director in 2013, he was told by the board "we want to develop, we need to develop."
Since then, both the board and city have been big proponents of building senior housing that's affordable, despite rising construction costs. LaRoche said the authority recently acquired another eight acres that sometime int he future will become senior or family housing.
Last year, the authority completed construction of the 38-unit Dr. Arthur O. Berry Apartments, as well the $5.5 million renovation of Larrabee Woods and Riverview Terrace, a total of 83 units, which resulted HUD transferring the public housing, through its Rental Assistance Demonstration Program, to Westbrook Development Corporation.
Riverview Terrace was named one of six "notable developments" In the state by the Maine Real Estate and Development Association earlier this year. Because of the Westbrook Housing Authority's federal high performance rating, $8,443,651 of federal money was infused into the local economy in 2018, the authority said in its annual report.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments