affordable housing

Now, developers will be able to take up to $10 million in Maine Historic Rehabilitation Tax credits within each of the first two years of a project.

The project includes 130 one, two and three bedroom condos, plus 26 attached accessory dwelling units that the owners can rent out or use for their own families.

More than 80 people have applied so far to purchase one of the first two completed homes, according to the non-profit developer Avesta Housing.

The report, from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, calculates what's known as the state's housing wage — the full-time wages that a renter would need to earn to afford a two-bedroom home without paying more than 30% of their income on housing and utilities.

Communities are starting to consider new tools to address the lack of affordable rental housing in Maine's midcoast. On Wednesday, Rockland's City Council opened the issue to the public by hosting a forum on rent stabilization.

A new law, approved by Maine lawmakers and signed by Gov. Janet Mills last month, reduces lot sizes in certain areas, known as designated growth areas, that are served by municipal infrastructure. It also allows more units to be built on a lot.

MaineHousing has awarded $13.4 million in state subsidies for the construction of 129 new affordable rental units in Portland and Lewiston. But they warn these projects could be the last of their kind for some time.

U.S. Agriculture Department mortgages for some 7,600 additional rental properties throughout Maine are reaching maturity and are at risk of being lost to the private market.

The rise in construction costs may be leveling off, but MaineHousing suggested recently proposed tariffs would increase the costs of building materials.

Residents of the Cedar Falls Mobile Home Park voted over the weekend to purchase their community for $8 million.