Building housing to attract and retain employees is not a new idea. Over 120 years ago, Lever Brothers, in Liverpool, England, built Sunshine Village to house its workers.

It is not just in Maine that rents and home prices have skyrocketed, and more companies are finding it harder to recruit and retain middle-income workers. Record-high job openings and low unemployment have made the competition worse, fueling staff shortages.
So a growing number of employers around the country have decided to build their own housing for workers, mostly for them to rent but sometimes to buy. Could this be an idea for Bath Iron Works? Provide nearby housing and transportation for its workers? Yes, building a parking garage is a temporary solution, but is it a long-term solution?

Douglas Robb
Bath