Proposal dropped for what would have been Cape's first affordable housing project in 50 years

Photo / Renee Cordes Szanton Co. proposed an affordable housing development near the town center in Cape Elizabeth, adjacent to the future Two Lights Dental office currently under construction, shown here.

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By Jessica Hall

The developer of what would have been Cape Elizabeth's first affordable housing project in 50 years has dropped a proposal after opposition and a referendum signed by some local residents.

The Szanton Co., based in Portland, had proposed a $13.5 million, 49-unit apartment building, Dunham Court, in the developing Cape Elizabeth town center, which includes a new town green next to the town hall.

“It’s clear that Cape Elizabeth hasn’t decided whether it wants affordable housing in its town center,” Nathan Szanton, CEO of the Szanton Co., said Tuesday in a press conference. “Last month, about 1,100 residents signed a petition to force a referendum to block Dunham Court.”

While a date for the referendum has not been set yet, the process is expected to take three to eight months, Szanton said. The referendum could reverse the town council’s approval of zoning changes needed for the development.

“It would involve running a political campaign, which is not what we do. We build affordable housing in communities that have decided they want us. We have never had to run a political campaign in order to gain the right to build an affordable housing project,” he said.

Instead, Szanton said his company will focus on other Maine communities that are actively seeking to add mixed-income housing. Szanton has ongoing projects in towns such as Bath, Portland, Lewiston and Old Orchard Beach.

“Businesses in towns where we build our projects have an easier time hiring workers who can live near where they work,” Szanton said. “Downtowns with our buildings have more foot traffic and more customers for their small businesses. Most towns find that diversifying the types of people who can live there enriches their community.”

As part of Cape Elizabeth’s 2019 comprehensive plan, the affluent Portland suburb of 9,300 set a goal of adding more housing diversity, both in affordability and type.

At the time of the proposal in February, Town Councilor Penny Jordan said the project was “exactly what was envisioned during the work of the Comprehensive Plan committee," and that the density of the housing “would really bring the energy we need to the town center in order to have vibrant businesses."

Save Our Center, a group opposing the project, had submitted a petition with 1,125 signatures to the town clerk in support of a referendum on the zoning changes.

The council is still scheduled to hold a public hearing on the referendum Wednesday night, despite Szanton's calling off the project.

“There’s no longer a project on the table; but if the ordinance package stands, there could be five of them headed our way,” opponents of the development said on the Save Our Center website.

Dunham Court was proposed as a four-story building with 35 one-bedroom, eight two-bedroom and three three-bedroom apartments.

“We’ve already received many requests from people asking if they can apply to live at Dunham Court. Single moms; young people hoping to return to the town they grew up in; seniors needing a more manageable home; and folks who work in Cape at relatively low-wage jobs, who would like to be able to live here,” Szanton said at the press conference.

“Those include workers at Pond Cove Plaza, child care workers at the Community Center, ed techs and secretaries in the Cape public schools, and EMTs and school bus drivers for the town.”

Opponent Curt Kelly said on the Save Our Center website, "A four-story apartment complex has zero provision for commercial space, which was the whole idea of the Town Center plan. An apartment complex is not my idea of a gathering place for Cape residents.”