Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I I N O. X M AY 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 6 State earmarks $20M for affordable rentals Gov. Janet Mills and MaineHousing announced a $20 million program to tackle the housing shortage by expanding the availability of afford- able rental housing across rural parts of the state. e Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program will provide funding to build affordable rental housing units. Under the program, projects must be between five and 18 units in size and can come from new construction, rehabilitation of existing housing, or reuse of exist- ing buildings into livable spaces for low- and moderate-income house- holds. e program is funded with $10 million from the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, as well as $10 mil- lion from MaineHousing, the state's housing authority. Port Authority has a new director e Maine Port Authority has named Matthew Burns, a for- mer deck officer on ships around the world and a Maine Maritime Academy graduate, as executive director of the authority after he had served in an interim capacity for the past year. He officially began his new role on May 1. e author- ity, a state agency, oversees deep- water port terminals in Portland, Searsport and Eastport as well as the state's railroad facilities. Burns stepped in after the resignation of Jonathan Nass, who left the top post at the Maine Port Authority in March 2021 to take a job in Mississippi. B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E That's when he called Maine MEP. We worked with him to identify Maine Wood Heat's long-term goals and figure out the best ways to grow and stabilize, including solutions for staffing and facilities. We can help your small business solidify its future, too. Connect with us today for a no-cost assessment! Scott wanted help with planning ahead for his family business. 1-800-MEP-4MFG / mainemep.org B R I E F Pennsylvania developer plans 128-unit apartment complex in Auburn B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r A u b u r n — A Pennsylvania developer bought 29 acres in Auburn to build an apartment complex with an expected total investment of $25 million. A.R. Building Co., headquartered in Seven Fields, Pa., plans to develop 128 housing units, which will be a mix of apartment sizes and layouts in a pair of four-story build- ings that will be connected by a clubhouse. The apartment complex will feature a gym, pool, and in-unit laundry facility. The address is 0 Mt. Auburn Ave., near the Auburn Mall Shopping Center and various big-box stores. Craig Young of the Boulos Co. represented the seller, Just Because LLC. Young said the land, zoned for housing or office use, had been on the market for a couple of years. "So this was the perfect use and they came along at the right time," he said of the buyer. Jason Kambitsis, president of A.R. Building, told Mainebiz that his company has three apartment complex developments planned in Maine, in Auburn, Brunswick and Scarborough. In March, the town of Brunswick approved A.R. Building's plans for a 202-unit apartment complex at 305 Bath Road. The firm looks for potential development locations in major business and retail areas. "That helps us under- stand the demographics and where people want to be," Kambitsis said. The developer specializes in the rental market, build- ing complexes of 100 to 250 units. Almost all of its port- folio is rental properties. It has 9,000 units in 10 states. A.R. Building acts as the general contractor, owner and manager of the products, and holds the properties for the long term, he said. "Once you've built something and you have it leased up and you don't have outside investors, it's only your own stake in it," Kambitsis said. "So we have no reason to get rid of the property." The firm works with architecture firms in Pittsburgh. The focus is on market-rate units. The demographics of renters, he said, includes younger people who want to stay in their community and want low-maintenance living situa- tions and older people ready to shift out of homeownership. "It's mostly single people and families," he added. Studio apartments will be 525 square feet and the two- bedrooms will be 1,100 square feet. One-bedrooms will rent for $1,400 to $1,500 per month and two-bedrooms for $1,800 to $1,900 per month. The investment was financed through equity from the company's portfolio, along with a construction loan. The company started development in New England eight years ago and turned its attention to Maine to fill a need for new products, he said. "There were communities that needed new development, Auburn being one of them," Kambitsis said. "The same with Brunswick and Scarborough." Construction is expected to begin this spring with a tar- geted completion period of 24 to 36 months. A.R. Building has a second office in Rhode Island and plans to open a third in Maine, at a location still to be determined. R E N D E R I N G / I N D OV I N A A S S C . A R C H I T E C T S, A . R . B U I L D I N G C O. Pennsylvania-based A.R. Building Co. plans to build market-rate rental units in Auburn. The builder has other projects in the works in Brunswick and Scarborough.

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