Westbrook develops plan to draw in artists
In an attempt to lure creative entrepreneurs to a rundown section of Westbrook's downtown, Westbrook Housing is selling three new affordable and somewhat unusual condos on Main Street.
The three "live/work" condos, as they're called, target "the city's burgeoning artisan community," according to Westbrook Housing. They're designed to allow the owner to live in the upper floors and work or set up a shop on the ground floor. The project was funded by a $627,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing's Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which covered the construction of the condos. The city bought the original dilapidated building, which was torn down, for $150,000, which also came from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
"We need to clean up that area of the town," Richard Begin of Westbrook Housing says, adding that the new project could increase the value of nearby structures. "That section of town really needs some TLC."
John Gallagher, Westbrook Housing's executive director, says this live-work arrangement harks back to an earlier time. "Downtown Westbrook was once home to many businesses in which the owners lived upstairs," he says in a press release.
Gallagher adds that he hopes private developers might be inspired to replicate this model in the downtown.
Each of the three units at 917 Main St. has a nearly 300-square-foot retail/studio area on the street level as well as a half-bath and one-car garage. The second and third floors total 1,200 square feet.
The units, at $175,000 each, are meant to be affordable and compete with housing prices in Portland that often too expensive for artists and craftspeople, according to Westbrook Housing. No purchase and sale contracts have come through yet, but the units have just recently been put on the market.
To prevent any "flipping" of mortgages, initial buyers will be required to sell at an affordable price for up to 15 years, and in that time any subsequent buyers will be required to meet income-limit guidelines, explains Begin.
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