The town of Madison celebrated the opening of 18 affordable studio, one and two-bedroom apartments on Tuesday.
The project was among the first to be funded through the state's Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program, which provides subsidies to developers who build a small number of homes outside Maine's largest cities.
Under the rural rental program, apartments must be leased to households earning no more than 80% of the area median income. Rents must be capped at a similar rate, and the developments must meet affordable housing standards for at least 45 years.
And because the buildings were constructed with modular units manufactured in Maine, it took about seven months to break ground, set the components on their foundation, connect them to utilities and complete the finishing touches.
Developers said the two apartment buildings were designed to look like other homes in Madison, and they do not resemble traditional manufactured or modular homes.
The homes have heat pumps and wood fiber insulation from nearby Timber HP. KBS Builders manufactured the units themselves in South Paris.
"When you walk in, you're not thinking affordable housing by any means. Whatever your connotation is, it's definitely not that," developer Sam Hight said. "We've got custom, oak hardwood flooring. We've got very large Pella windows that bring in a lot of light, custom cabinets, Corian countertops, stainless steel fixtures in the kitchens and the bathrooms, tile floors in the bathrooms. We've got a great galvanized metal roof with solar."
Hight, who runs his family's car dealership in Skowhegan, had never built housing before but said he and his partners were inspired to try after a study conducted by the town of Madison found a desperate need for more homes. Sappi, New Balance and Timber HP have promised to bring hundreds of new jobs to the area in the coming years.
Hight said about 75 people have applied for one of the 18 units.
"We've got young professionals, recent college graduates looking to move to the area, and they've got new jobs and no housing in the area," he said. "And then 65-year-old and plus downsizing seniors."
Maine Housing Director Dan Brennan said he's hopeful that more first-time affordable housing developers will be able to finish similar projects in other communities.
"It was a model that was new, untested, and it took some bravery to actually try to make that happen," he said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Madison.
The first few Madison residents are expected to move in within a week or two. The developers are planning to eventually build 18 more units on the same plot.
