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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 27 A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 1 8 "You have to be patient and choose the right development," says Jellison. "If you have a formula for buying a chunk of land, ascertaining your costs and dividing that by a certain number of lots, you're okay as long as you don't go over that number." "We're all looking at the market and fi guring out how can we make a return given the risk we're taking," says Developers Collaborative owner Kevin Bunker. While low-income housing is helped by subsidies and the rich have ready cash, "the hard part is developing for the middle-income buyer." New-build niches at thought process is resulting in niche development in some areas. In greater Bangor, Joe Brasslett, owner of Brasslett Construction LLC in Etna, fi nds the $300,000 single-fam- ily market, leveraged by word-of- mouth customers in service sectors like the local police department, is his "sweet spot," as he says. He recently completed a ranch house in Dexter, with a dozen houses and a 0-unit apartment complex on tap. Still, he says new construction could be limited in the future as high- quality lots are taken, making what's left more expensive. "$60,000 to $70,000 for a good- quality lot isn't outrageous when you travel the state south, but with a $300,000 budget, with $230,000 left, that throws the house out of [the buyer's] budget," Brasslett says. In Lewiston, the new Hartley Block construction will provide 63 rental units. But more generally, offi - cials see conversion of existing build- ings for rentals, plus a slight uptick in single-family development. City Planner David Hediger expects those trends to continue, with more people moving into Lewiston due to higher home costs in Portland. Refl ecting tight inventory, Ellsworth has permitted more rental-lease unit construction over the past 20 months than the previous eight years com- bined, says City Manager David Cole. e market is expected to grow, espe- cially with e Jackson Laboratory's development of a mouse production facility, expected to employ 350. "I don't think we've even baked the Jackson Lab development into the cake yet," says Cole. "So we'll have future needs." L S, Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached at @ . Experienced Representation for Projects of any Size. Portland (207) 774-7000 Lewiston (207) 777-5200 For more than 40 years, Norman Hanson & DeTroy has been a trusted partner to Maine's design and building professionals. Put our expertise and talent to work for you. Learn more at nhdlaw.com/construction F O C U S P H O T O / JA S O N PA I G E S M I T H Joe Brasslett, owner of Brasslett Construction.

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