Denise LaGasse moved into Bangor’s first tiny home park six months ago to start fresh after her husband died unexpectedly of an aneurysm.
“I needed something totally different from what he and I had,” said LaGasse, who previously lived in Lincoln. “I have nothing from my home here and I like it because it’s nothing he and I would have ever done.”
LaGasse is one of several tenants who live in Randall Park, Bangor’s first tiny home community. City officials approved the development at 1337 Hammond St., which sits next to Pine Grove Cemetery, in February 2023 and the project was completed in November 2024.
Now that tenants have had several months to settle into their miniature homes, the Bangor Daily News knocked on a few doors to see how residents like it.
While LaGasse said she loves living in a tiny home, she’s grateful to have a closet and a loft in her unit that provides extra storage space. Without those, she isn’t sure where she’d put her belongings.
“It’s quiet here, out of the way and I feel very safe,” LaGasse, who is in her 50s, said.
Maggie Lusk-Johnson talks about finding creative ways to use the space in her tiny house in Randall Park, Bangor’s first tiny home park. Lusk-Johnson said a tiny house appealed to her desire to downsize as she approaches retirement. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
Davi Barreiros exercises his two huskies Prince and Key (right) on Wednesday in Bangor. Barreiros, who lives in a tiny home in Randall Park, said the dogs love to run up and down the streets pulling him on a skateboard. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
Syd Danforth, 64, moved into his tiny home in December 2024 and lives with his 16-year-old dog, Buffy. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
Denise LaGasse has a canvas on her stove that describes life in a tiny home. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
Maggie Lusk-Johnson said a tiny house appealed to her desire to downsize as she approaches retirement. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
Each of the 320-square-foot homes has a full bathroom, one bedroom, a small patio, a parking space for one vehicle, stainless steel appliances and heat pumps. Some have a loft and a closet in the bathroom while others don’t.
Maggie Lusk-Johnson, 63, said she researched tiny homes for years before moving into one of Bangor’s in March. They appealed to her desire to downsize as she approached retirement.
“I’m originally from Colorado and there are tiny home communities all over the state,” Lusk-Johnson said. “I’ve always been a minimalist and I knew I didn’t need a lot of space. It’s a perfect size for me and I love it.”
Lusk-Johnson moved to Maine from Florida after getting a job as a respiratory therapist at Mount Desert Island Hospital. She donated all her furniture to a church that helps immigrant families and moved to Maine with only her clothes.
“I travel a lot for work, so I’m used to living out of suitcases,” Lusk-Johnson said.
When purchasing miniature furniture for her downsized space, Lusk-Johnson said she soon learned that furniture must serve more than one purpose. Her loveseat, for example, folds out into a full-sized bed for guests and her television stand has cabinets and drawers that she uses to store pantry items.
Lusk-Johnson plans to turn her loft into a makeshift guest room when her children and grandchildren visit.
She’s grateful Louie Morrison, the developer and landlord of Randall Park, created the tiny home village, and wishes “more people would consider this when looking at the housing issue,” Lusk-Johnson said.
Morrison said he received “a few hundred” applications from people interested in moving into one of the 30 tiny homes, and the park has been full ever since. Rent for the homes is $1,300 per month.
Morrison, who owns more than 300 housing units in the Bangor area, said he developed the tiny home park because he was turning down potential tenants due to a lack of available rentals. Building tiny homes, he said, allowed him to bring 30 new, reasonably priced homes to the city in a short amount of time.
Many in the community have at least one pet, and Morrison said he was surprised by how many couples live in the homes.
Davi Barreiros, 30, moved into one of the tiny homes in April with his two white huskies, Key and Prince. Barreiros was previously living in Colorado, but moved to Maine to work in a local restaurant.
Barreiros said he loves living in the home, though it can be tight at times with two large dogs and he has to vacuum dog fur frequently. However, he spends most of his time at work or outside exercising his dogs.
In nice weather, Barreiros said the dogs love to run up and down the quiet streets pulling him on a skateboard.
A few doors down, Syd Danforth, 64, moved into his tiny home in December 2024 and lives with his 16-year-old Yorkshire Terrier mix, Buffy.
Originally from Auburn, Danforth moved to Florida where he lived for two years before deciding to come back to Maine, but struggled to find affordable housing.
“I’d always wanted to move to Florida, but it didn’t take long to find out that Florida isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Danforth said.
He initially looked into renting an apartment in Lewiston, but was later connected with Morrison, who appealed to him because he wanted to rent a locally owned property rather than a development owned by an out-of-state company.
While Danforth said he enjoys living in his tiny home, he’d eventually like to move into a larger space, as he only has room for a chair and television in his living area.
However, the new unit would need to be “an ideal spot” to convince Danforth to move out of his tiny home.
“At first, I referred to it as my cubicle, but the longer I’ve been here, the more comfortable I feel,” Danforth said. “Even though this is small, I really like living in this community. I don’t regret it for one second.”