A Scarborough-based developer will build a new apartment complex in downtown Freeport over the next two years after receiving approval last month.

The Dash is Freeport’s second approved housing project this year, with the apartment complex getting the go-ahead from the town’s Project Review Board — which reviews development projects for the town — on Nov. 19. Construction of the three-story apartment complex featuring 51 studio, one- and two-bedroom units will begin in the spring, according to Daniel Bacon, development director for M&R Development.

“This is an exciting project that really moves forward the community’s vision for the downtown,” said Freeport Development Director Brett Richardson. “Housing has been a priority for Freeport for a number of years.”

The town originally approved a 67-apartment housing project proposal for the site back in 2022. Shortly afterward, construction costs and interest rates went up significantly and changed the developer’s fiscal situation, making it difficult for them to continue the project. M&R revisited it years later.

“I think it is a great fit for having some housing downtown and also our goals for providing for different types of housing in southern Maine,” Bacon said. “It provides a good housing choice for people that are looking for in-town living and obviously smaller units than a single-family home.”

L.L.Bean currently owns the land M&R Development is looking to develop and the sale of that land is expected to go through in 2026, Bacon said. In the past, L.L.Bean had to scrap a housing project off Desert and Old County roads in 2020 because of public pushback of the size of the development.

Freeport approved construction of about 93 apartment units between the Varney Heights and The Dash in the coming years, which could start a trend of affordable housing projects in the town and meet the community’s goals for adding more housing in the downtown and diversifying the housing stock besides single-family homes, Richardson said. The town is still working on its set goals for housing in the area and is focusing an balancing growth and inviting development.

Affordable senior housing at Varney Heights — which has 42 apartments for seniors over the age of 55 — received approval at the Freeport Town Council meeting on May 6, along with an affordable housing tax increment financing district, Richardson said. The last housing development in Freeport was the grand opening of The Residences at Crosstree, which was the town’s first housing development in over 20 years.

The Dash is M&R Development’s eighth housing development since 2015, according to a news release. The Dash name is an homage to a historic schooner of the same name built in Freeport in 1813, a nod to the town’s maritime history.

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