Ryan Fecteau, the senior officer of policy and planning for Avesta Housing, spoke to the Biddeford Planning Board about a proposed 46-unit affordable housing development on April 17. Eloise Goldsmith
BIDDEFORD – A proposal to build 46 units of affordable housing for older Mainers on Barra Road in Biddeford has started its journey through the city approval process.
The owner of the land, Indian Cliff Development Corp, is working with Avesta Housing, the largest nonprofit affordable housing provider in northern New England, on the project.
The proposed senior housing would sit on one 2.2 acre lot – just north of another project by Mike Eon, the partial owner and president of Indian Cliff Development Corp.
The Biddeford Planning Board reviewed the project’s sketch plan on April 17. During the meeting, board members seemed largely supportive of the plan. Avesta, which already has three other properties in Biddeford, would build and operate the units and is the applicant for the project before the Planning Board.
Indian Cliff Development Corp. is simultaneously seeking sketch plan approval to convert seven acres of the roughly 56-acre property into eight lots – with one of those lots earmarked for the Avesta project. The Planning Board also discussed the sketch plan for the subdivision on April 17.
Mike Eon told the board that the units in the affordable housing project will be available for people who are 55 and older and make up to 60% of area median income.
The project stems from an agreement that Eon entered into with the City of Biddeford three years ago. In 2021, Eon obtained a credit enhancement agreement from Biddeford to give him a financial leg up in constructing a residential development at 60 Barra Road, a 250-unit apartment complex that is currently in construction. As part of the arrangement, Eon entered into a joint development agreement with the city that stipulated he would build at least 30 units of affordable housing for seniors in the area, according to Biddeford City Planner David Galbraith.
In addition to usual Planning Board approvals, the proposed affordable housing project needs a contract zone – permission to deviate from existing zoning code – in order to keep the units affordable.
“The current allowance on this lot is 1,500 square feet per unit, and we’re looking for some greater density in order to get to the 46 units that we want to build on this parcel. That’s really the key … and then of course, the height. We can’t squeeze the 46 units into the current allowed height, so we’ll be asking for a little additional height” said Ryan Fecteau, the senior officer of Policy and Planning for Avesta Housing, at an April 16 Biddeford City Council meeting.
City Council voted April 16 to send a proposed contract zone for the development to the Planning Board with a positive recommendation.
Fecteau said they are in a “race” to secure Planning Board approval ahead of applying for funding from MaineHousing, a process that starts this coming September.
“It’s a competitive process, incredibly competitive process,” Fecteau said, but “we feel like based on (how) MaineHousing score(s) projects, that this will be a very competitive project. It’s a great area. It’s housing for older adults, and it’s in an area with lots of health care, so that’s definitely a positive for the project.”
As the state with the oldest population in the country, Maine has a growing need for affordable housing for older citizens, many of whom live on a fixed income.
Voters in Kennebunk recently signed off on a proposed contract zone for a similar project that would allow Kennebunk Savings Bank – in partnership with Avesta – to construct 70 units of affordable housing for people ages 55 and older who make up to 60% area median income.
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