The Brunswick Topsham Housing Authority will stop issuing vouchers that assist with rental payments starting this week as it prepares to set aside resources for its new housing development in Topsham.

While many programs had recently put their vouchers on pause due to lack of funding, the housing authority that covers the Brunswick area is pausing its program to make way for tenants in its future Topsham complex.

“We are going to be freezing vouchers, but for a good reason, because we’re building that 38-unit project in Topsham,” said BTHA Executive Director John Hodge. “We’re going to be putting 24 vouchers in that project; that way, people who rent those units can get some rental assistance.”

Hodge said construction crews are diligently working on the Fairview Commons project at 25 King Road in Topsham, which is around 80% complete. The project has been underway since fall 2023.

“We did have some delays, because when you get these types of projects, the financing can be a little bit complicated, and that took more time than we had anticipated,” Hodge said.

Fairview Commons has a total cost of $16.8 million. Three years ago, the Topsham Planning Board unanimously approved the project for $10.8 million, but the projections made before the COVID-19 pandemic drove up the cost of all construction projects. BTHA secured more funding for Fairview Apartments through the low-income housing tax credit program administered by Maine Housing.

The rental rates for the 24 two-bedroom and 14 three-bedroom apartments range between $1,041 and $1,443 a month, with four wheelchair-accessible units. BTHA expects the rooms will fill quickly, and Hodge said that the waiting list for units in the new complex will open in the next week or two.

Section 8 vouchers help low-income, disabled and elderly tenants find affordable housing in the private market. A wave of voucher freezes at some of Maine’s major housing authorities hit late summer after several agencies used up their share of federal funding designated for the program.

But Hodge said that this hasn’t happened at the Brunswick organization. Those on the waiting list for vouchers, however, will have to wait a bit longer, he said. He also noted that vouchers that have already been issued will not be impacted by this freeze.

The project in Topsham has been years in the making and is near its end stages. The $10.8 million housing project was proposed and approved by the Planning Board three years ago. The complex, situated by the Topsham Crossing subdivision, is on schedule for completion, Hodge said.

“We’re now in the process of finishing the interiors, and we’ll do that through winter,” Hodge said. “We hope that buildings will be completed sometime in May, and then we’ll lease it.”