I read with interest the article in the March 14 local section titled “More condos planned for India Street.” It states that another high-end luxury condominium project is planned for the India Street neighborhood, bringing the total to three in the works so far.

I immediately began to wonder how long it will take for the owners of these units – which I am sure will have asking prices starting from $300,000 to $500,000 and possibly range close to $1 million — to decide they need to go to City Hall and complain that the Milestone Foundation is a blight to their neighborhood and needs to go.

We see this happen all the time when people knowingly purchase property in close proximity to, say, a shooting range, for example, and all of a sudden decide it is in their best interest to get rid of that certain establishment because it is lowering property values or that they don’t like the type of “riffraff” that is hanging around.

I hope it doesn’t happen, but will anyone be surprised when the owners of these very expensive units start to complain that the Milestone Foundation doesn’t belong there anymore. In my opinion, it not only belongs but it has a need to be there and stay there. The people who buy those units will have chosen to live there knowing that Milestone is there, and I hope and pray they do nothing to try to make it move. The homeless and addicted, who in times of despair have nowhere else to go, need Milestone to stay right where it is and not get pushed out because it “ruins their neighborhood.”

As I said, I hope this doesn’t happen, but do not be surprised when all of a sudden it becomes an agenda item at a City Council meeting.

Chris Soule

South Portland

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