"Building & real estate" piece about the acute need for affordable housing in Ma

Taylor Smith

Source

Mainebiz

Date

7-21-2003

Pages

24-26

Abstract

"Building & real estate" piece about the acute need for affordable housing in Maine, and the efforts of developers like Nathan Szanton to address the issue. Szanton has teamed up with Robert C. S. Monks to form a for-profit company, Maine Workforce Housing, that plans to build affordable housing throughout Maine. The company's first project is Casco Terrace, a 27-unit apartment building, on State Street in Portland, where the city's comprehensive plan cites the need for 5,000 units. The housing crisis in Portland is illustrated by the fact 42 percent of Portland households have annual salaries of less than $30,000, and 28 percent make less than $20,000, while a two-person household would have to earn $38,600 a year to afford the $965 monthly rent for the average two-bedroom apartment in the city. According to the Maine State Housing Authority, 56 percent of Maine households in 2002 couldn't afford the state's average rent of $782 per month, causing large segments of the population to become disenfranchised. With a brief list of state and federal agencies providing funds for affordable housing.

Subjects

Casco Bay Terrance Portland, Housing, Housing Costs, Maine Workforce Housing, Real estate development, Szanton, Nathan

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