WESTBROOK – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland may have found a buyer for two buildings formerly associated with St. Hyacinth Church in Westbrook, but the whole deal hinges on whether the state approves housing tax credits for developing the property.

The church, now part of St. Anthony of Padua Parish at 268 Brown St. in Westbrook, is not for sale, according to a diocesan spokesman. But two other buildings on the property have been on the market for some time, and all that time, Kevin Bunker has had an eye on them.

“We’ve been interested in that for years and years,” said Bunker, who represents Developers Collaborative, a consortium of private for-profit developers who seek out projects that will make money as well as benefit the community.

“We really do put smart growth first,” Bunker said.

The church, in consolidating the then-new parish in Westbrook in 2005, closed two other churches in the city, St. Edmund’s and St. Mary’s. At the time, diocesan officials said St. Hyacinth was larger than the other churches and could accommodate the congregation more easily. In addition to the consolidation, the diocese put two other buildings on the St. Hyacinth property up for sale. One of the buildings was once used as a school, while the other was a parish center/convent.

Bunker said his group plans to gut and rebuild both buildings while adding an addition onto the rear of the parish center building to create a 37-unit housing project marketed toward families. The development, he said, would be ideal, since the property is a short walk from the city’s downtown area.

“It’s a wonderful location,” he said.

Westbrook Community and Economic Development Director Keith Luke said housing in those buildings would be a welcome addition to the area. The market rate in the city, he said, would support development of several types of housing or even mixed commercial and residential use.

In addition, with the adjacent Dana Warp Mill filling up fast with new business, Luke said workers could live within walking distance of their jobs. That would cut back on demands for parking, a perennial problem that some critics have argued could stunt further growth in the area, Luke said.

“Look at all the problems it makes go away,” he said.

Despite their age, Luke said, the buildings are in relatively good shape, given that they have been vacant for years.

“We’re fortunate that the diocese has been committed to keeping the buildings from falling into blight and disrepair,” he said.

Bunker declined to disclose how much Developers Collaborative has offered for the property, but said the group noticed in September that the price for both buildings, plus the accompanying 3-acre Walker field and a vacant lot behind the parish center, had dropped significantly from the nearly $3 million original asking price.

That got the ball rolling, and Bunker said the group just recently put the buildings under sale contract.

But the collaborative hasn’t closed on the property yet, and won’t until it can get housing and historic tax credits from the state. Bunker said the group needs to acquire and sell those tax credits to spur further investment in developing the property.

Bunker said the buildings’ historic outer shells, which would not be touched, makes the project eligible for historic credits, but for housing credits, the collaborative will need to compete with other projects looking for similar credits from the state housing authority.

Bunker said it would have been ideal for the collaborative to have had time to go through the planning process, and get preliminary approval for the development before seeking the tax credits.

“You get points for that,” he said.

Not having that advantage can hurt the collaborative’s chances, Bunker said. But the group still feels it has “a pretty even” shot at getting the credits.

Bunker said there is no official deadline for the state’s award, but he expects to know within the next three weeks whether the project can go forward.

If it doesn’t, Bunker said, the sale would likely collapse, and potential changes to the housing credit system might put future efforts to develop the property even further out of reach, which could mean the property will remain vacant for a long time to come.

“I assume the default would be that we would not be able to pull this together,” he said.