WESTBROOK – The Westbrook Planning Board has granted approval to a proposed project to turn two aging former St. Hyacinth Church buildings into new affordable housing, after a public hearing where residents asked questions and voiced concerns.

The vote Tuesday night was 5-2 in favor, with member Dennis Isherwood and Vice Chairman Rene Daniel voting against it.

The Roman Catholic Church once used the two buildings as a school and a parish center and convent for the Brown Street parish. In 2005, the church consolidated St. Hyacinth with two other churches in the city, St. Edmund and St. Mary, under a new parish named St. Anthony of Padua Parish, which it still uses today.

As part of the consolidation, the church closed down the St. Edmund and St. Mary buildings, and put the former St. Hyacinth school and center/convent buildings up for sale. Now, Portland-based Avesta Housing is planning to renovate the two buildings into housing.

Edward Reidman, Planning Board chairman, said this week that he likes the idea of the buildings finding a new use, especially as housing the city needs.

“There’s not enough affordable housing for the next generation down of Westbrook people,” he said.

Reidman said some of the initial public backlash had been due to the definition of “affordable” housing, which Reidman said carries a negative stigma of so-called “Section 8” housing.

“It’s not designed to be that way,” he said.

Reidman said another issue is a 14-unit addition that is planned for one of the buildings, which one resident worried would be too close to neighboring buildings.

“Her concerns were legitimate,” he said.

But in the end, Reidman said, the project would give new life to two empty buildings, and requires that those buildings’ historic outer shells not be defaced.

“There are two historic buildings there that are going to be renovated,” he said.

In addition, Reidman said, an adjoining park, which will be part of the new complex, will remain open space for everyone in the neighborhood to use.

The timeline on when construction will begin was not available at American Journal deadline Wednesday.