ALFRED — Homeless for many years, Ken Emerton showed off his new apartment Wednesday to Gov. John Baldacci and others who attended the York County Shelter Programs open house to dedicate Vinton Hall.
It is a warm, bright, sunlit studio apartment or “bedsit” on the first floor of the one-year-old, eight-unit building.
“It feels good to come inside,” he said. “I was homeless for so long. I camped out many years.”
Dried chives, dried peppers, flowers and plants framed the windows. Emerton also crafted bookshelves and a television stand from old barnboards on the property. There’s a bright rug on the floor.
It’s home.
“I’m impressed to see what you’ve done to make it your own,” Baldacci said on a tour of the building.
The 5,500 square-foot structure is the first “green” home for chronically homeless people in Maine. The building, designed by Joy & Hamilton architects, incorporates solar and photovoltaic energy, wood heat, radiant floor heating and other green technologies. Architect David Joy said the building is well insulated.
“We wanted to built it as energy efficient as possible,” said Joy.
There are solar panels on the roof, piping that provides radiant heat in the floors and a 900-gallon tank in the basement for domestic hot water. In the winter, the building is fueled by a gasification wood boiler that emits just a handful of ash. Wood is supplied from the Shelter’s farm in Newfield. The building burns no oil.
Vinton Hall, named for longtime shelter worker David Vinton, is located behind the emergency shelter on Shaker Hill. The land for the project was donated by the Brothers of Christian Instruction.
The project, estimated at $800,000, was cobbled together from an array of grants and support from Maine State Housing Authority, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, Maine Realtors Association and Kennebunk Savings Bank.
York County Shelter Programs Director Don Gean estimated the building carries a $50,000 mortgage and the built-in green features means the monthly energy expense tops out at about $140.
“This should win an award,” said MSHA Director Dale McCormick. She said the housing authority has mandated green building standards since 2005, but Vinton Hall is built beyond those standards.
“This is a big deal for us, it’s a wonderful home for eight folks and a memorial to David Vinton,” said Gean. Vinton was one of the first clients of the old York County Alcoholism Shelter in 1979 and moved from client to employee, working with the homeless until his death three years ago.
“His spirit carries on,” said Gean.
Baldacci said projects like the eight-unit apartment building designed for the chronically homeless makes economic sense.
“It’s real forward thinking,” he said.
He also noted Vinton’s achievements.
“It is fitting this facility is named for him,” Baldacci said. “It is a testament to the wonderful level of support to the homeless in York County.”
Emerton, 56, who said he has physical and mental disabilities, said he feels fortunate one of the apartment units was available to him.
“This is a stable environment. There’s plenty of support,” he said.
He said he volunteers at the shelter’s food pantry and at the shelter, cleaning and helping out with other chores.
“I had nothing when I came here,” said Emerton. “(Being here) has made my life easier to bear.”
— Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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