‘Missing middle’ housing planned for Rockport farmland

Photo / Courtesy Aaron Englander, Maine Coast Heritage Trust MidCoast Regional Housing Trust received a donation of one acre, an 1850s farmhouse and old dairy barns in Rockport to create workforce housing.

Write a Comment

By Laurie Schreiber

A project to develop housing for middle-income earners is in the works on donated farmland in Rockport.

MidCoast Regional Housing Trust received a donation of one acre, an 1850s farmhouse and old dairy barns from Maine Coast Heritage Trust to create workforce housing. At least eight housing units could be developed.

The donation, finalized Nov. 21, was part of Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s larger project to expand the adjacent Erickson Fields Preserve with the addition of the farm property’s remaining five acres.

The farm property is called Erickson Fields Homestead.

The preserve’s expansion will allow for new agricultural programming, expanded public access and deeper collaboration with the elementary school in Rockport, according to a news release.

“As we advance the conservation of lands and waters in Maine, we’re committed to assisting on creative land use solutions addressing community needs,” said Aaron Englander, associate director of stewardship at Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s Aldermere Farm and Erickson Fields Preserve. “Lack of affordable housing is one of our region’s most pressing challenges.”

The property

Erickson Fields Homestead is across from Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s Erickson Fields Preserve.

Map / Courtesy Maine Coast Heritage Trust

Erickson Fields Homestead is adjacent to Erickson Fields Preserve.

Both the homestead and the preserve were once part of a multi-generational dairy farm along Route 90.

In 2009, Maine Coast Heritage Trust permanently conserved the farmland south of Route 90 to create the preserve. Goals were to:

Protect agricultural land
Connect people with the land through hiking trails, community gardens, agricultural programming for youth and produce for local food pantries
Test regenerative agriculture techniques

In 2024, Maine Coast Heritage Trust secured the six-acre homestead property and began conversations with partners to explore how it could conserve the land and achieve additional community goals. Recognizing the region's housing crisis, partners determined the farmhouse and immediately surrounding land would provide the most benefit as workforce housing.

Housing

In 2024 and 2025, Maine Coast Heritage Trust worked with MidCoast Regional Housing Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to creating year-round, attainable housing for local median-income workers in Knox County.

The goal is to provide “missing middle” housing for local workers such as teachers, first responders and tradespeople who can’t afford housing in the region.

The housing trust provided the following data:

The median home price in Knox County is over $450,000, putting ownership out of reach for many working families. (Source: Maine Listings, Domus Analytics, June 2025).
One major company in Knox County found that 25% of its prospective hires turned down or rescinded job offers because of high housing prices and limited availability. (Source: “No Place to Call Home: Workforce Housing in Midcoast Maine,” MidCoast Regional Housing Trust/Camden Rotary, January 2022)
In Knox County, 1,280 new housing units are needed by the year 2030. (Source: Midcoast Council of Governments)

The gaps leave behind what some call the “missing middle”—households earning too much to qualify for subsidized housing but not enough to afford market prices.

“The housing crisis gripping midcoast Maine has prevented thousands of working families and young households from being able to call Rockport their home,” said Jon Duke, Rockport’s town manager.

Fundraising

The housing trust will launch a fundraising campaign to first renovate the farmhouse and then to develop the rest of the one-acre site into multi-family housing,” Jonathan Goss, president of the MidCoast Regional Housing Trust, told Mainebiz.

Details of the capital campaign aren’t ready to be released yet, he said.

Structurally, the farmhouse is in pretty good condition. But repairs and replacement are needed throughout, including the heating, electrical, plumbing and life safety systems; replacements of components such as windows, stairway railings and the roof; revamping the bathrooms; and connecting the house to the public sewer system.

It’s estimated the overhaul could take six to eight months. The house will be offered as a single-household rental.

“We’ll get the house going as soon as we can,” he said.

The multifamily development is still being planned, but is expedited to start with eight units across two buildings, he said. The buildings will be designed “to reflect the character of rural Maine communities by creating a cluster of related farm-like buildings in the architectural style of a traditional Maine farmstead, the trust said. Old barns on the property will likely come down.

In addition to the capital campaign, financing is expected to include commercial and community lenders and grants.