Known for building condominiums designed to attract active, older adults, local developer Joel FitzPatrick has taken the first step toward creating a 47-unit project off Spurwink Avenue in Cape Elizabeth.
The Cape Planning Board was set to discuss the new project, called Maxwell Woods, at a workshop on Tuesday, after the Current’s print deadline.
FitzPatrick said Tuesday the condos being proposed would be built on nearly 18 acres and run in the low $400,000 range. His hope is to start construction “as soon as (the project) is permitted.”
And, Maureen O’Meara, Cape’s town planner, said the FitzPatrick Associates project would most likely mirror the Eastman Meadows and Cottage Brook condo developments in town that the firm also developed.
The company, based in South Portland, specializes in single-story condos with two-car garages marketed to older buyers, according to the FitzPatrick Associates website. It says the company’s goal is to build “communities specifically designed for the active adult, emphasizing high-quality, single-level, energy-efficient, easy-to-live-in homes.”
Prior to this week’s Planning Board meeting, O’Meara told the Current that the plans for Maxwell Woods “are still in flux” and that the developer “is still feeling out his options.”
However, the number of units FitzPatrick is proposing is in line with the number of condos in both of his other local projects, which are near where Maxwell Woods would be built. Cottage Brook is located on Aster Lane and Eastman Meadows is on Eastman Road.
O’Meara said the Planning Board workshop this week would be “very informal” and said that depending on FitzPatrick’s wishes, there could be more than one workshop on the project before he submits a formal application.
She said the application would include specific project plans, including the total number of units, the total number of acres included in the project and how many bedrooms would be in each unit.
However, O’Meara said, the project would be subject to two local ordinances that govern new development.
One rule requires such projects to offer a portion of the units at moderate or low- income prices and one requires that 45 percent of the gross project area be set aside for open space.
While O’Meara said housing starts are cyclical, after the slowdown in housing development due to the recent recession, there is pent-up demand for new housing options, particularly for older people wishing to downsize and retire.
Local developer Joel FitzPatrick is proposing a new condo development in Cape that would include 47 units constructed much like this one in his Cottage Brook project.
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