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Happy Thursday.

This early fog will give way to partly sunny skies by mid-morning. We have another day of temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s across the state. There is a chance for late showers, but by then, most of us will be in bed. Humidity will be mild again today. Enjoy it while you can, because Sunday looks like a muggy mess, based on the latest forecast.

In case you missed it, the old Marden’s building in Brewer has been sold. The new owner doesn’t yet have any concrete plans for the property, but he envisions storage, retail, potentially a gym or even a car showroom. And he’s moving to get tenants in right away.

Beyond the former four-decade-old home to Greater Bangor’s Marden’s, the sale included more than 40 acres zoned for high-density residential use. So more housing could be on the horizon.

“There’s always need [for] housing,” the buyer, Larry Springer, said.

It’s a city-owned snow dump. Caribou wants to turn it into affordable housing.

Eric Sanderson, Caribou’s economic and community development specialist, stands in an empty lot on Brook Street that the city hopes to turn into new housing. Credit: Cameron Levasseur / The County

Increasingly Maine towns and cities are realizing that if they want to do anything about housing shortages, they might have to pony up the land.

The Aroostook County city of Caribou inventoried its own holdings this spring with the aim of using some for affordable housing and found more than 200 acres with high potential for residential redevelopment.

Ultimately, city officials picked a 23-acre lot close to city services and approved funding for a survey and environmental assessment that they will recoup when the land is sold.

The project, still in its infancy, needs a developer but could add as many as 33 lots for single-family homes, duplexes or both.

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From the Opinion Page

In this 2018 file photo, a nurse hooks up an IV to a flu patient at Upson Regional Medical Center in Thomaston, Georgia. Adults in their late 20s and 30s face medical collections at a higher frequency than older Americans, a study finds, possibly due to lower incomes, lower insurance rates and insurance with high shared costs. Credit: David Goldman / AP

“A survey of Maine voters released this spring revealed that more than four out of 10, almost half of Maine families, carry burdensome medical debt.”

Opinion: Rising healthcare and insurance costs are unsustainable