Two major housing developments approved at Brunswick Landing

The Brunswick Planning Board approved a pair of large housing developments at Brunswick Landing Tuesday night — one between Intrepid and Neptune drives and the other a 144-unit apartment complex at the intersection of Admiral Fitch Avenue and Landing Drive.

The former project calls for 41 single-family lots and five apartment buildings with 12 units each. The latter calls for nine four-story multi-family residential dwelling units, each with 16 apartments units. The proposed project includes an enclosed dog park, gazebo and playground.

The board voted unanimously to approve the proposals after the developer, Brunswick Landing Ventures, addressed concerns from residents about flooding and erosion. The site will be sold through Graiver homes which is a building company that is operated by Loni Graiver.

There has been some pushback on the projects from neighbors who are concerned about how they will change the neighborhood.

“We are very concerned about what we will be losing behind our homes and what is going to be there is all that entire row of homes directly in our backyards,” Denise Lynch, a neighborhood resident said. “I am not only concerned about the habitat but the ecosystem, my shade and utility bills. I don’t see any concessions for all of that green space and all of those beautiful trees that are going to be completely destroyed.

“While we would like to continue having our community grow, there is no place to gather or to play and I am just begging for some green space to be salvaged instead of a home every acre that does not give kids any space for kids to play,” Lynch added.

The newly constructed homes are expected to run around $325,000, while the apartments should range from $1,395 to $1,650, the developers have said in previous interviews. Those prices are susceptible to change depending on market conditions.

“We have delivered one of the largest affordable housing opportunities for home ownership for the state of Maine ever delivered. No one has matched us,” said Andrew Preston, developer at Brunswick Landing Venture. “In addition, we offer great incentive packages for our renters. We gave increased incentive packages in terms of rebating one to two months of rent for renters giving them homeowner assistance for their down payment, anything that we could do to rebate the security deposit, helping them move using our maintenance staff to move them for free if needed. Doing anything we can do for flexibility to help them into a home.”

A rendering of one of the proposed apartment buildings. Courtesy of Priority One Capital Partners, LLC

Jim Howard, CEO and president of Priority One Capital Partners, said rent for the apartment complex at Landing Drive will be priced according to market rate and target customers and employees from neighboring businesses.

According to Maine State Housing Authority, the median cost of a two-bedroom apartment with utilities is $1,650 which would be affordable with a household income of $66,000 in 2020.