Kennebunk voters approve 'greatly needed' affordable housing project for seniors

KENNEBUNK, Maine — Voters handily approved a contract zone Tuesday that will allow Kennebunk Savings to subdivide its property on Alewive Road and make way for new affordable housing units for seniors.

Voters gave the hometown bank the win, 2,226 to 412, according to results released by Town Clerk Merton Brown on the night of March 5.

The town put forth this contract-zone question, as well as another one about a local ordinance, on a municipal ballot that voters filled out alongside their party-affiliated ballot during the state presidential primary.

Securing the contract zone is just step one for the project, which now must go through the town’s site plan review process for final approval.

If approved, Kennebunk Savings would subdivide its land at 7 Alewive Road into three separate lots: one on which its headquarters would remain; another for the construction of two affordable housing buildings that would each offer 35 units for seniors; and a third for open space.

The bank’s headquarters is not included as part of the contract zone and would remain in the town’s industrial zoning district, according to town documents.

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Avesta, an affordable housing developer based in Portland, would operate the units. As part of the project, Kennebunk Savings is donating the 12 acres on which the housing would be built and the 12 acres of green space that would be preserved. The bank also is donating $550,000 towards the construction of the two buildings.

During the lead-up to the vote on Tuesday, Maureen Flaherty, the bank’s chief marketing and customer experience officer, said it is important for communities to have a good mix of housing options.

“We know affordable housing is greatly needed for older adults,” she said. “This project is a step in the right direction.”

Voter Sue Plass agreed. As she headed into the polls at the Kennebunk Town Hall on Tuesday, she provided her reason for the yes vote she was about to cast on her municipal ballot.

“I think we need some more affordable housing,” she said.

Plass added, though, that she was not quite sure what is meant by “affordable.”

“Especially after COVID,” she added. “The prices of homes in southern Maine have increased incredibly.”

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While the calculus is subject to change between now and when the units would be finished and available, Rod Harmon, the communications manager for Avesta, recently provided a look at what rentals would cost if present financing was used. A single person earning below $40,560 a year would be qualified to apply to rent a unit, he said. Two people, earning less than a combined $46,320 a year, would be qualified.

Members of the Kennebunk Planning Board first received the application for the contract zone in early 2023 and spent much of the year discussing the proposal and holding public hearings. In November, they advanced the application to the town’s Select Board, which discussed the proposal, held a public hearing, and unanimously agreed to put it in voters’ hands in early January.

If the project successfully completes the town’s planning process, Avesta could break ground in the fall of 2025 and be completed by the winter of 2026, according to Harmon.

Also on Tuesday, by a vote of 2,277 to 346, voters approved enacting an amendment to Section 8 of the town’s ordinance to address local standards for street design and construction. The amendments largely pertain to the acceptance of town ways.

As a result of the approval, the amended ordinance goes into immediate effect.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kennebunk voters approve 70 affordable housing units for seniors