Plans for the 4-story, 63-unit green apartment building at Brunswick Landing are moving forward, according to the developer and town officials.
The 49,192-square-foot Beacon Workforce Housing project, which Admiral Fitch Associates hopes to begin work on next year, is now in the design development stage and is working its way through the town’s development review process, according to Economic Development Director Sally Costello. A sketch plan has been approved and the next step is for the developer to submit a final plan for review and Planning Board approval.
The Town Council earlier this month approved a $6.3 million tax agreement with Admiral Fitch Associates, with ultimately $3.2 million going to the town, $1.2 million to the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority and $1.9 million to the developer. The proposed building on Admiral Fitch Avenue is located in a town “opportunity zone” that provides incentives for long-term investment.
Thirteen of the 63 Beacon Workforce Housing units, or 20%, will be made available for tenants with incomes less than the median income in Brunswick, which is $63,458, according to the latest available data. Eligibility specifics will be firmed up closer to the building opening, according to Dave Holman of Holman Homes, a partner with Admiral Fitch Associates. Brunswick requires that 15% of all new housing units be affordable.
“We expect we’ll be able to work with a broad spectrum of renters, both young workers and retirees,” Holman said.
The current market rate to rent a one-bedroom apartment by the month at Brunswick Landing is $1,750, and $2,195 for two bedrooms, according to the Brunswick Housing Authority. Rent for those considered affordable is $1,168 for a one-bedroom and $1,537 for a two-bedroom. The affordable apartments are reserved for those who meet income requirements, which in the state of Maine is typically anyone earning 60% or less of the area median income.
A study published in June 2022 found that 41% of tenants in Maine are cost-burdened by rent, meaning they spend over 30% of their income on housing. This data was collected in 2020, and rent prices have increased since then.
The apartment building will be fully electric with no use of fossil fuels, “which is extremely rare of a building of its size,” Holman said. “We’ll provide heat and water for all 63 apartments with heat pumps.”
It also will have sustainable siding and electric vehicle charging stations, along with an underground parking garage that is in addition to the 49,192-square-footage figure.
“We wanted to build a green, sustainable building that we’ll be proud of 500 years from now that will be a great place to live,” Holman said. “We’re hoping to make it a community-centered building with programming and activities.”
Holman said the plan is to begin construction in winter 2023 and wrap the project up by 2024 in one of a number of apartment and building projects currently at Brunswick Landing.
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