Maine Accessible Housing Development Receives Low Income Housing Tax Credit Allocation
MaineHousing has awarded $5.4 million in subsidies and a Low Income Housing Tax Credit allocation to an affordable housing development of 51 rental apartments at the site of a former racetrack in Scarborough, Maine. The new housing development will feature smart home and innovative technologies to enable people with disabilities to control their living environment in the heart of a vibrant community neighborhood. The housing is being developed by Preservation of Affordable Housing and 3i Housing of Maine.
The development is gaining increasing interest because the apartments will be designed according to principles of universal design, green standards and the entire building will be the first of its kind with wired technologies for adaptable environmental controls and smart home functionality. The development will be located in Town Center at The Downs in Scarborough, Maine. The community of affordable rental apartments will be home to 51 households in which at least one member is disabled. In addition to the private rental apartments, the project will feature a common living area for social activities, a designated workspace for human and health service providers and an entrepreneurial center deemed the mobility and assistive technology hub with extensive educational opportunities for assistive technology invention.
The state funding was part of a $30M funding package supported by Maine Gov. Janet Mills and the legislature with $17.5 million coming from the first half of the 131st Legislature in 2023 and another $10 million coming from the recently passed state supplemental budget in March. The appropriation will help finance the development of 248 new affordable rental homes in six Maine communities. The POAH/3i HoME project is the largest family focused project in the package.
POAH expects to start construction in the first quarter of 2025 with an opening slated for the end of 2026. For more details, click here.