A bird’s-eye view of the reimagined Railroad Square in Yarmouth. Contributed / Barrett Made Architecture

Railroad Square in Yarmouth Village, a 4.4 acre lot off of Main Street, may see some significant changes in the next few years with the potential of five new buildings with 45 condominiums for those 55 and over, other housing and commercial space.

The market-price condominiums would be located in three, three-story buildings with 15 units each at the back and away from the street at 48 Railroad Square, according to development consultant Matthew Teare, who is working on the designs for developer and property owner Tamson Hamrock. There are also plans for a community center in one of the buildings.

The Railroad Square master development plan will add condos for those 55 and older, apartments and commercial space as well as a pavilion and sidewalks. Contributed / Barrett Made

A three-story and a two-story building with office and retail space and smaller condos or apartments on the upper floors, for a total of 10 units, also are planned. Rental costs for those residences have not been determined yet, Teare said.

The properties at 1 and 48 Railroad Square have been in Yarmouth resident Hamrock’s family for about 20 years and creating a space that the community can benefit from is important to her, she said.

As of 2019, about 39% of Yarmouth’s total population is 55 and older, according to U.S. census data.

Senior housing provides a good option for the town, Teare said.

“Yarmouth right now is dominated by single-family homes and there aren’t a lot of different choices besides that,” he said. “Senior housing generates very little traffic, it’s quiet, it’s attractive to neighborhoods, tax revenues are very significant from a market-rate senior community and they send no children to the schools, so early on we decided that was the ideal anchor.”

Current independent senior housing options in town include Royal Mariner Estates off Rebecca and Gail lanes, a 31-unit market-rate development. Bartlett Circle and Bartlett Woods each have 28 income-eligible apartments for seniors, according to the nonprofit Yarmouth Senior Housing Inc. Bartlett Circle is fully occupied with a six-person waitlist, and Bartlett Woods has one vacancy.

The median price of a single-family house in Yarmouth is $715,000 and the median price of a condo in Yarmouth is $430,000, according to Portside Real Estate in Yarmouth. As of 2019, the median household income in Yarmouth is $89,984, according to U.S. census data.

Bike and pedestrian trails are also part of the redesign plan, and Teare and Hamrock have been working with Casco Bay Trail Alliance and the Maine Department of Transportation. They also want to improve the railway line that runs alongside the square.

Railroad Square is now home to Strong Bodies fitness studio and Artascope Studios along with the covered pavilion where the Yarmouth Farmers Market is held each summer. Hamrock said both businesses plan to relocate in one of the new buildings.

The Railroad Square development is still conceptual, according to Yarmouth Director of Planning and Development Erin Zwirko, and the master plan for the square is part of a “lengthy review process.”

Teare said the approval process will likely take a year. It’s too soon for a target completion date, but it’s hoped work can begin in 2023 and be completed by 2026.

“(The planning board) has generally expressed interest in the big concept and idea of the master plan and would like to see it come to fruition because it has the opportunity to really transform an underutilized corner of the village,” Zwirko said. “What they’ll be looking for in particular is whether it’s the right size and scope to seamlessly work within the village center.”

The redevelopment of the square is also in line with the town’s 2010 comprehensive plan, which targeted the revitalization of Yarmouth Village and Main Street to allow for more commercial and mixed-use buildings and improve pedestrian and bike access.

Teare and Hamrock are already working with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to study the property and plan for redevelopment, including the use of a state program that encourages reusing previously developed properties.