BIDDEFORD — With the news that proposed residential development was successful in its application for affordable housing tax credits, plans for this significant, new apartment complex in the mill district are going forward.
Nathan Szanton, a principal of The Szanton Company, recently learned that his project was one of six, from a total of 18 applications, approved for tax credits by MaineHousing.
Construction on the $15 million project, The Lofts at Saco Falls, is scheduled to begin in June and be completed in April 2016. The project will utilize buildings within the Riverdam Mill.
MaineHousing will provide $7.5 million in affordable housing tax credits for the 80-unit housing development.
To be eligible for the tax credits, the majority of the units will be workforce/affordable housing. There will also be some market-rate units.
The project will include 64 one-bedroom units, 15 two-bedroom units and one studio apartment. The rental price, which includes heat, hot water and Wi-Fi, will range from $570 to $765 for one bedrooms and $680 to $915 for two bedrooms.
Other financing will come from $5.7 million in combined state and federal historic tax credits; $1.4 million in a mortgage from MaineHousing; and a $500,000 bank loan.
Under a TIF credit enhancement agreement, the developer would also be reimbursed 75 percent of the property taxes on the new value of the property for 15 years. The amount to be reimbursed would be reduced by 4 percent each year for the next 15 years. At the end of 30 years, the city would receive the entire amount of property taxes.
The project’s future was in jeopardy, because Szanton had applied to MaineHousing for affordable housing tax credits last year, but was denied.
If the project hadn’t received the tax credits, “this project would not be able to proceed,” he said.
The project would also have not moved forward, said Szanton, if not for the city’s “courageous and far-sighted” decision to purchase and close the nearby Maine Energy Recovery Company.
The city purchased the trash-to-waste incinerator, which had been a hindrance to growth in the mill district and downtown for decades, and closed it in 2012. The Maine Energy buildings were removed last year.
Parking for the Lofts at Saco Mills would be rented from the city at the incinerator site, said Szanton.
He developed a similar housing project adjacent to the proposed development, which also relied heavily on affordable housing tax credits.
The Mill at Saco Falls, developed in 2010 in the Riverdam Mill, includes 66 housing units and is also a mix of affordable and market-rate apartments.
Szanton said that housing development “is popular, and there is a long waiting list ”¦ for every vacancy, we get 50 phone calls.” He said he believes the new project will be just as successful.
Part of the reason the apartments are so popular is because people are attracted to the mill district and its character, and “there is a demand for high-quality housing,” he said.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that if things are developed right, all that mill space can be filled with housing,” said Szanton.
In addition to helping to fill the mill district, he said, he thinks building more housing “will be a boon for Main Street. Those people go to eat and shop,” said Szanton.
“This is a wonderful project for the downtown,” said the city’s Economic and Community Development Director Daniel Stevenson. “People living in these projects will spend money locally and help drive the local economy.”
In addition, he said, this project “will help fill a lot of the Riverdam Mill which is one of the most difficult mills” and is in the most disrepair.
Stephen Goodrich, owner of the Riverdam Mill, said Szanton’s plans will be an impetus for more improvements at the approximately 100,000 square feet of space remaining in the mill.
“It certainly changes our view of what and when we’ll do something with the rest of it,” he said. “As of now, we’ve been taking small steps and making improvements as needed.”
The new residences “will be a significant change,” said Goodrich, and make the remaining space much more attractive.
Although there are no specific plans for what will go in the rest of the Riverdam space, he said he has been talking with several existing tenants, and “there is a lot more interest.”
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less