BRUNSWICK, Maine — A Brunswick town councilor said a housing development expanding from rentals to condominiums may price residents out of town.
Brunswick Landing Venture has purchased several hundred units of former Navy housing and has been working to renovate the properties, moving many from rental to condominiums, WGME reports.
Since Brunswick Naval Air Station closed in May of 2011, the 3,200-acre base has seen major development including the Brunswick Executive Airport, 105 businesses and developments of housing and various retirement communities.
But Town Councilor Christopher Watkinson said the project will “destabilize” the housing market.
In a letter to the town’s planning board, Watkinson wrote that he heard from current renters of the housing who described the situation as a “bait and switch.”
Developer Chris Rhoades told CBS 13 that’s not true.
“We’re going to have more rentals after the conversion of these to a for sale product than there was prior,” he said.
The owners have said they just purchased another property on the former Navy base that will add more than 150 affordable rentals.
“We also have excess land where we could build more rental product as well, so we’re continually doing the assessment of the housing needs for the community,” Rhoades said.
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