PORTLAND — A multi-million-dollar plan is in the works to bring much-needed housing to Maine’s tight market.
The massive development could provide housing for 900 families.
If approved, the proposed $300 million development would be built on 82 wooded acres between Dennett Road and Route 236 in Kittery.
“Everywhere from Portland to Boston, there’s a huge demand for housing,” engineering project manager Shawn Tobey said.
The planned development calls for 900 brand-new housing units on the New Hampshire state line in Kittery.
“Portsmouth is growing,” Dennett Landing Developer Sheila Grant said. “You’ve got the naval shipyard and there’s a need for housing in this area. We’re going to have apartments. We’re going to have townhouses, condos. And it’s going to be at different price points. We’re hoping to have a multi-generational group move in and enjoy the area.”
Tobey says with so many job opportunities in the Portsmouth area, there is a huge demand for a development like this.
“Portsmouth, Pease, the shipyard, there’s a lot of jobs and opportunities in this area,” Tobey said. “With a lot of these new projects, it’s almost a live, work, play environment where you have the housing. But in addition to that, there’s a sense of community.”
Developers also plan to create their own downtown, of sorts, in the woods.
“We’re going to create a robust downtown area with food and retail and a brewery,” Grant said. “A medical office building, assisted living or memory care facility, a life science building and a day care.”
They also plan to keep a lot of the nature there for walking paths and bike trails, including some foot bridges over an existing pond.
“There is a large area of open water that we’re really trying to accent as part of the project with the trails,” Tobey said. “Maybe a dock.”
The project would still need the approval of the Kittery Planning Board, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Maine DOT.
The price of the housing units has yet to be determined.
It may depend on construction costs at the time, but under a Kittery ordinance, at least 10 percent must be affordable housing units.