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V I E W P O I N T S W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 M AY 2 , 2 0 2 2 From the Editor M aine's housing crunch didn't start with the pandemic. e need for housing of all kinds has been part of the discussion for years now. Issues like the lack of affordable housing, the dwindling market of housing for middle-income families, the need for apartments, the short-term rental market and restrictive zoning have all been issues we've talked about for the past decade. ey didn't start with COVID. In the past two years, we've seen the median home price surge to $325,000 in Maine. We've seen new residents move here from California, Texas and Massachusetts. We've also seen a surge of quiet money coming in — investors who are buying up properties as short-term rentals or providers of passive income. What used to be one of the more affordable aspects of living in Maine has become a crisis. e good news is, we can do something about it. In this issue we lay out not only some of the challenges, but also provide some solutions. Some of the solutions are common sense. Developer Nathan Szanton suggests that towns with more than 5,000 people designate an area "where one or more four-story buildings, with at least 40 apartments each, could be built on a 1.5 acre parcel of land." Tiny Homes of Maine CEO Corinne Watson suggests launching an agency tasked with help- ing people find homes, jobs and schools. Auburn Mayor Jason Leveque suggests revising restrictive zoning: "By encouraging simplified and less exclusionary zoning we can promote the replication of some of our older most successful neighborhoods that were only able to be created with less restrictive zoning." Derek S. Volk, CEO and owner of Volk Packaging Corp., suggests dormitory-style housing for single people: "It would be helpful to have housing with individual bedrooms with shared kitchens and common spaces. I have never understood why those were not available to people." Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz Featured @ Mainebiz.biz For a daily digest of Maine's top business news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews Get Maine's business news daily at mainebiz.biz and on Twitter (@Mainebiz). Below is our most popular content for the period from April 11–25. 1. Sugarloaf buys Kingfield's storied Herbert Grand Hotel, will use it for workforce housing 2. Maine brewers make national ranking as thirst for craft beer grows 3. Portland protein bar maker acquired by Connecticut snack-food company 4. Field of dreams? World's tallest flagpole could bring thousands of jobs to Downeast 5. Maine home foreclosures just soared 23%, rank high in the US — but it could be worse 6. A Gorham industrial property with long- term tenant acquired by Portland investor 7. Mainers will receive $850 relief checks under new state budget, ready for Mills' signature 8. After 15 years, Maine chooses a seeming dark horse for new voter registration vendor 9. Bitcoin miner comes to Lewiston, has plans for western Maine 10. In wake of BIW president's exit, watchdog criticizes Navy oversight of shipyards F I L E P H O T O 1 Before a single case is constructed, a foundation of trust is built. bernsteinshur.com Be valued. BE SHUR. With our Construction Group, you get more than an experienced attorney. You get a partner. People you can collaborate with, talk to, and trust. This is the true foundation for any relationship. That is what we do. Common sense solutions to Maine's housing crunch The good news: Maine is gaining more people. The bad news: We don't have enough housing.

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