Maine State Housing Authority Awards $30 Million in State Subsidies for Affordable Housing Developments – The Maine Wire

The Maine State Housing Authority announced Thursday that it will be awarding $30 million in state subsidies for the development of affordable housing throughout the state.

This funding will be spread across six different localities — including Augusta, Bangor, Gardiner, Lewiston, Scarborough, and Waterville — and allow for the construction of 248 new housing units.

MaineHousing said in their press release that funding for these subsidies was “made possible” by a $17.5 million allocation made by the Legislature during the first session, as well as a $10 million allocation made as part of the recently approved supplemental budget.

The Maine State Housing Authority goes on to explain that by awarding these subsidies, it will allow for an additional $61 million worth of federal funding to be leveraged by the state as well.

“This funding announcement comes on the heels of five recently completed affordable housing developments in Maine, with a sixth celebrating its opening next week in Madison,” MaineHousing Director Daniel Brennan said in a Thursday statement.

“These funding awards are yet another clear example of the unparalleled support for affordable housing development that has been shown by Governor Mills and a bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers who have made the creation of safe, warm and affordable housing for all Maine people their priority,” said Brennan.

“I have always believed that a home is much more than just a roof over your head,” Gov. Janet Mills (D) said, “and with these new projects, we will make home a reality for hundreds more Maine families.”

“While there is more work to do, I am proud of this progress and of the funding that the Legislature and I provided to make it happen, and I thank MaineHousing for its continued work to create safe, comfortable, and affordable places to live for Maine people,” Gov. Mills wrote.

Three of the developments receiving a subsidy are targeted at older adults, while the other three are geared toward families.

Click Here to Read the Full Maine State Housing Authority Press Release

128 of the total units constructed as a result of this funding will be utilized as affordable senior housing, and the remaining 91 will be offered as affordable housing for families.

Total subsidy amounts range from $4 million for a family development in Gardner to $6 million for a senior housing project in Bangor.

The other two developments for older adults will be located in Lewiston and Augusta and received $5.4 million and $4.8 million respectively.

A Waterville family housing project was given $4.7 million, while the family development in Scarborough was granted a $5.4 million subsidy.

Click Here for More Details Regarding the Subsidies Awarded by MaineHousing

In March of this year, the Maine State Housing Authority announced that it would be financing the construction of 105 new affordable rental units in several towns throughout rural Maine.

These one- and two-bedroom units will be constructed in Hallowell, Newcastle, Rockport, Rumford, Sanford, and Waterville.

[ Maine State Housing Authority to Construct 105 New Affordable Housing Units in Rural Maine]

According to a press release published at the time by Mills, funding for this project came from the state’s biennial budget, as well as from the recently approved bond cap expansion.

LD 2209 — approved unanimously by lawmakers earlier this month — allows the Maine State Housing Authority to have an “aggregate principal amount outstanding” in “mortgage purchase bonds” of $3 billion — an increase of $850 million over the agency’s previous statutory limit.

Increasing the Housing Authority’s bonding capacity was intended to bring this limit into alignment with the state’s current housing production needs, according to testimony offered during the bill’s public hearing.