Rockland Planning Board Gives Final OK to McLain Housing

Project awaits state decision on low-income tax credits.

midcoastvillager.com

By Stephen Betts

The Rockland Planning Board and neighbors tour the McLain property on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 5. The existing former school would be converted into 17 apartments while a new building would be located in the grass in the foreground of this photo for 12 additional apartments. Photo by Stephen Betts

ROCKLAND — The Rockland Planning Board voted unanimously Tuesday night, Aug. 5 to give final approval to converting the former McLain School property into 29 affordable apartments.

The proposal calls for renovating the former McLain School into 17 apartments. A new building will be built on the west side of the existing building that will have 12 units. The new building will have a 4,000-square-foot footprint and be 2.5 stories high.

The only remaining hurdle is whether the project receives low-income state tax credits for the project. The Maine State Housing Authority is expected to announce late this year which projects will receive the tax credits. Construction of the $11 million to $12 million would begin in 2026 and occupancy would be in late 2027 if the developers receive the tax credits.

The City Council voted May 12 to grant an option on the McLain property to Developers Collaborative and Lake City Holdings LLC to acquire the building. Developers Collaborative is the developer of the 49-unit Peasley Park apartment complex on Maverick Street in Rockland. Lake City is the developer of the nine apartments above Loyal Biscuit on Main Street in Rockland. The transfer of the property would occur once the project gets the green light for state tax credits.

The City Council voted July 23 to approve a tax agreement with the developer for a 30-year agreement that will return half of the additional property taxes created by the project back to the developer for operational purposes. Once completed, the project is expected to begin generating more than $91,000 annually in property taxes with half of that returned to the developer.

Rents will range from $875 for a studio apartment to $1,400 for a three-bedroom unit. Income caps of households eligible for apartments would range from $35,000 to a high of $60,000, depending on the number of people in the family.

Planning board members and neighbors toured the McLain site Tuesday afternoon prior to the formal meeting. At the meeting, a couple residents voiced their concerns again about the possible negative impacts the project would have on the residential neighborhood.

Read the article here at midcoastvillager.com.