BATH
Bath Housing is requesting a donation of land owned by the city of Bath that will contribute to building 10 one-bedroom apartments on Tarbox Street for residents earning between 50 and 80 percent lower than the area median income.
“There is an acute need for additional affordable apartments in our community,” said Bath Housing Executive Director Debora Keller in an email on Tuesday.
According to Keller, Bath Housing Development Corporation owns 1.97 acres of the land that will be used for the project site, while the city’s .58 acre parcel abuts the property on Tarbox Street. She added that the donation of the land would provide access options to the Bath Housing site.
Keller said the project has been redesigned since it was proposed in 2005 to meet feasibility and community needs, in addition to responding to feedback from the public.
The revised project will reduce the number of buildings, change apartment configurations and increase efficiency by reducing construction costs.
Development costs are expected to total about $1.65 million, and the project has already secured $500,000 through the Community Development Block Grant program.
The organization will also be submitting an application to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston’s Affordable Housing program to request a $500,000 grant for the project’s construction and lowinterest loan, which Keller said will provide “critical funding” for the project and its success.
With construction expected to begin as early as next summer, Keller said the organization will also be hosting a neighborhood meeting in the fall to review the project with the community before it goes before the city for approval, and City manager Bill Giroux said city councilors will decide whether or not to appraise the half acre property at a council meeting tonight.
“The council has a policy when considering disposing of city property that they have an appraisal unless they vote to waive it,” he said on Monday morning.
The meeting will take place tonight at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
dkim@timesrecord.com
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