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V O L . X X V I I I N O. I X M AY 2 , 2 0 2 2 22 R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / E N G I N E E R I N G F O C U S In Augusta, the issue is a priority for Fecteau, who grew up in affordable hous- ing in Saco and wrote the bill that cre- ated Maine's new $80 million Affordable Housing Tax Credit program. A spokesman for the Maine State Housing Authority credits that program with "turbo-charging" existing federal tax credits and substantially boosting the development pipeline. Over 600 MaineHousing-financed developments were created in 2021, up from 350 in 2020. As more people move to Maine, Fecteau remains concerned about the fact that one-in-five Mainers spend half their income on housing in a state with one of the nation's oldest housing stocks. ose issues "are not going to get any better if we don't continue to be ambitious to address these chal- lenges," he says. At the local level, Fecteau credits Auburn's Republican mayor, Jason Levesque, with removing red tape to new housing in the 23,000-popula- tion city by cutting the number of zones for new construction from 32 to eight this year. "Auburn realized that we need to remove barriers for property own- ers to enhance their neighborhoods, invest in their communities and build a more sustainable future," Levesque says. "We were on that track until the 1960s when exclusionary zoning halted our growth and led to a slow degradation of our city core." Noting the "monumental amount of work" that goes into rezoning a whole city, Levesque adds, "I hope that business, as well as current and future residents, realize that we are simplifying regulations, provid- ing predictability and eliminating unnecessary roadblocks to develop- ment while protecting what is great about Auburn." Maine Medical Center | Scarborough, ME Interstate Electrical Services | www.iesc1.com | 855.500.4372 • Electrical Construc on • Design Build Engineering • BIM Coordina on • Smart Material Placement • Arc Flash Hazard Analysis • Largest UL Cer fied Prefabrica on in the Northeast • 900+ Employees Strong • 55+ Years of Experience • Facili es in all New England States » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Amy Cullen, vice president and project partner of Szanton Co., near the construction site of Milliken Heights in Old Orchard Beach. She says the need for affordable housing existed before the pandemic, but is now finally getting attention. We are empowering Mainers to contribute solutions to the housing crisis in their own backyards. — Ryan Fecteau Maine House Speaker

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