Avesta celebrates opening of Scarborough housing development
Photo / Maureen Milliken
Avesta Housing's Southgate development in Scarborough, which includes a historic farmhouse, has opened for residents.
Avesta Housing on Wednesday celebrated the opening of its Southgate Farm residence on U.S. Route 1 in Scarborough.
The conversion of the 214-year-old farmhouse, and an addition built by Avesta, adds 38 housing units to a tight market for affordable housing, officials of the nonprofit developer said.
“Maine is in need of more affordable housing for people from a variety of backgrounds," Dana Totman, Avesta Housing president and CEO, said in a news release. "We’re pleased that the redevelopment of Southgate Farm has led to a safe, quality, affordable home for 38 households. It’s particularly special that with this development involved the preservation and resurrection of an important community landmark.”
Avesta received 1,600 requests from seniors for affordable housing in 2018, up 21% from the previous year.
Residents began moving into Southgate at the end of May.
Originally built in 1805 by Robert Southgate, the farmhouse is one of the town's oldest structures and has had a variety of uses over two centuries, including a "gentleman’s farm" and country retreat, a restaurant and inn, and rental housing.
Avesta Housing bought the property in 2014, and submitted its plan for the property to the town in 2015, a year after it was identified by the town's Historic Preservation Committee as one of 48 historically significant properties in town.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places last year, which allowed Avesta to use tax credits as one of the financing tools.
The residence includes eight one-bedroom apartments in the main house, with four studio, six one-bedroom, and 12 two-bedroom senior units in the addition. There are also eight two-bedroom non-age-restricted apartments for households making 50% to 60% of the area median income.
Avesta worked Goduti-Thomas Architects, of Portland, and builder Benchmark Construction, of Westbrook, to preserve the historic integrity of the farmhouse while adding a new building designed to complement the original.
Financing for the $8 million project came from MaineHousing, Boston Capital, Bangor Savings Bank, Community Housing Capital, NeighborWorks America, Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta and Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston.
The project also got a $100,000 grant last year from the Scarborough Housing Alliance, which works to find affordable housing solutions in the town of about 20,000, 10 miles south of Portland.
Avesta has 98 properties in Maine and New Hampshire, providing homes for more than 3,200 people. The organization received a total of over 4,000 applications from Maine residents in 2018 and was able to house 373 of them, Totman said earlier this year.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments