LINCOLN, Maine — It took almost seven years, four federal and state grants and the relentless salesmanship of a vision articulated by town leaders, but Lincoln has exorcised the last ghost of the 2002 arson fires that destroyed a quarter of downtown.
That was the message from town officials who held a groundbreaking Friday at the former Lake Mall site at Main Street and West Broadway. The last property to be revitalized in the wake of the two arsons — the large, cratered lot will be the home of the $3.5 million Lakeview Senior Housing project.
Site clearing started Monday. The pouring of the building’s foundation should start in two weeks. Work will continue through winter, with construction due to finish in September 2010 and building occupation to occur two months later, said Steve Moores, director of housing services for Penquis, the Bangor-based social services agency overseeing construction of the three-story building.
With ready access to a pharmacy, a large grocery store and a host of other social services and retail amenities, the site is perfect for the senior citizens who will reside in Lakeview’s 24 units, Moores said at the groundbreaking, which was attended by about 30 people, including town and state leaders, representatives of U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and local businesspeople.
“It really is the perfect location and it represents a lot of ‘firsts,’” Moores said Friday. Among the project’s firsts, or highlights:
· For town officials, the housing project and the downtown revitalization that occurred with it represent the most complex and largest construction effort they have ever attempted. Several properties were razed and acquired and new sidewalks, streetlights, edifices and parking lots erected, including the Lee A. Rush Memorial Gazebo and the lakeside walkway, said Ruth Birtz, the town’s economic development assistant.
The finished building, Town Manager Lisa Goodwin said, will strongly resemble what town welfare director Gilberte Mayo first proposed for the site in 2002 — a mixed housing and retail site that will provide customers for downtown businesses while partially addressing the town’s shortage of housing for seniors and underprivileged residents.
Mayo helped lure Penquis officials, including Moores, to look at the site in 2007. Before that, one potential developer resigned his interest in the site, which among the damaged properties was among the most difficult to fill because town officials wanted to fulfill their vision for the property, Goodwin and Birtz said.
“I’m glad it’s done,” Town Councilor Rod Carr said. “It’s been a long time, eight long years. There have been a lot of high and low points for us along the way, but we finally got it done. I just wish John Weatherbee could have been here.”
Weatherbee was on the council in 2002. He died in July 2006.
· For Penquis and town officials, Lakeview is the first construction project bolstered by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funding. As much as 90 percent of the building’s total costs will be funded or reimbursed by federal stimulus money, Moores said.
State housing and town officials said the project’s qualifying for the federal monies, which have to be allocated by Dec. 31, is a testament to the speed with which Penquis and town officials worked to prepare building plans.
· The building will be the first Penquis housing project to have a large, two-faced clock that, while it might not become a Lincoln icon, will definitely add to the beauty and utility of the building, Moores said.
LAKEVILLE SENIOR HOUSING PROJECT
COST: $3.5 million
COMPLETION ESTIMATE: September 2010
FUNDING SOURCES: Maine State Housing Authority, Community Development Block Grants, Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, Machias Savings Bank, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
TOTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE: 23,189 square feet
OCCUPANCY: 21 one-bedroom units; three two-bedroom units
INCOME ELIGIBILITY FOR SENIORS: 50-60 percent of median income; $18,200 for one person; $20,800 for two people
ESTIMATED RENT RANGE: $474-$575, one-bedroom units (utilities included); $575-$675, two-bedroom units
MINIMUM AGE REQUIREMENTS: 55 and over
OWNER: Lakeview Senior Housing Associated Limited Partnership
DEVELOPER: Penquis of Bangor
ARCHITECT: Salmon Falls Architecture
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Perry and Morrill Inc.
MANAGER: Penquis Housing Inc. and The Housing Foundation
RENTAL INFO: Contact Lisa Callender, Lincoln Penquis, 794-3093
Source: Penquis