Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 17 J U LY 1 1 , 2 0 2 2 A U G U S TA / WAT E R V I L L E / C E N T R A L M A I N E large-scale communities, but we're not going to get to the 870 units doing just that, nor should we. We need to add to the supply from many different angles, and small-scale private development has a huge role to play in that." She sees possibilities for that result- ing from L.D. 2003, a new state law that allows up to two units to be built on lots zoned for single-family housing. "ere are tons of property and homeowners in Augusta, and a lot of the lot sizes are larger and conducive to add- ing maybe a couple of units onto existing units to meet the need," she says. e new law "is really opening up opportunities and getting people really thinking about how everybody who is a property owner to be part of the housing solution." Asked about the optimal propor- tion of private and nonprofit housing developers, she says, "I think it's important to have a mix. ere's not necessarily a magic number. Any healthy community is diverse, both in terms of those that contribute to and invest in the community as much as those who live there." A third project, still at an early stage and dependent on the green light from the city to sell the property, could add around 50 units of affordable housing, Olson says. Augusta Housing is also in negotia- tions to buy the office building it cur- rently shares with the Augusta Police Department for $650,000 to house its six-member staff, create workforce hous- ing and set up a child daycare center in collaboration with a local operator. "We're a tiny staff, but we're like the little engine that could," Olson says. "We're trying to step up to the plate in terms of expanding housing opportunities through the develop- ment of new affordable housing." Her take on the city's housing situ- ation: "e replenishment of housing stock in Augusta has historically not kept pace with the need," she says. "e resulting shortage of inventory has only been exacerbated by the pan- demic. at said, there is a boom here, largely due to the city of Augusta's ability to create a developer-friendly environment." 'Hasn't scratched the surface' Much of that environment is due to Parkhurst, a former pro skateboarder who moved back to Maine in 2008 and got into development because he wanted a nice apartment and couldn't find one, as he told Mainebiz in 2018. He ended up buying and renovating five down- town buildings with ground-level retail and upper-level apartments. Today as Parkhurst embarks on an all-commercial endeavor to convert an empty building at the bottom of Sand Hill he recently bought into a bagel eatery, he's watching today's residen- tial market with interest. "e downtown stuff has been great," he says. "But it hasn't even scratched the surface … I don't think that there's any type of housing development you could put in Augusta that would not be suc- cessful right now. We have such a need." R e n e e C o r d e s , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t r c o r d e s @ m a i n e b i z . b i z a n d @ r s c o r d e s R E N D E R / C O U R T E S Y O F T I M G O O C H Senior Living at the Marketplace will deliver 42 units of affordable housing for tenants age 55 and older. F O C U S P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY LEFT TO RIGHT: Keegan Carmichael, an architect with CWS Architecture + Interior Design; developer Tim Gooch; Joe Lajoie, vice president of Lajoie Bros. Inc.; and Bobby Lajoie, a project engineer at Lajoie Bros. Inc., at the construction site for Senior Living at the Marketplace. Gooch hopes to "lease up" in December.

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