The recent national economic turmoil has forced the developer of a proposed co-housing project called Greenward Hamlet to hold off on breaking ground.
“The banks won’t lend me the money,” said Francois Paradis, the Saco woman who is behind the development, to be located at the end of Marshall Lane, a dirt road off Route 117.
She said five banks have turned down her loan application for the project.
“I am still trying to get financing secured,” said Paradis, who is now aiming for November as a start date. “I hope to break ground at least by Thanksgiving.”
In early September, Paradis said, she had hoped to break ground on the project that she envisions as an environmentally friendly development using geothermal, solar and wind energy. Residents would live in a tight-knit group, share meals in a common house and grow some of their food together, she said.
Four people who had previously verbally agreed to purchase a condo recently backed out, Paradis said. Banks want to see that she has at least five or six buyers committed before she receives a loan, she said.
Paradis said the project, to be built on 30 acres that she already owns, will take about three years to be completed. She expects the first two buildings, which will house a total of eight condos, to be done by late spring. The project will also have a common house for residents to gather, which, Paradis said, she hopes will be completed in the second stage.
She plans a total of five buildings with four condos in each. The condos will range from one, two, three and three bedrooms with an in-law apartment.
Prices will range from $225,000 for a one-bedroom to $415,000 for a three-bedroom with an in-law apartment. Paradis said she is committed to a three-bedroom unit with the in-law apartment.
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