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Community Housing of Maine proposes 10-unit affordable building at 48 Waterville Road in Skowhegan
Summary
Community Housing of Maine and Acorn Engineering presented a plan to replace two vacant buildings at 48 Waterville Road with a 10-unit affordable apartment building, a rain garden to manage stormwater, and 11 paved parking stalls; the board asked about accessibility, utilities and parking ratios under LD247.
Community Housing of Maine (CHOM) and Acorn Engineering presented a preliminary site plan to the Skowhegan planning board on May 15 proposing a new 10-unit affordable housing building at 48 Waterville Road, about a quarter-mile east of Route 2 as it enters downtown.
"We're excited to bring 10 new units of new construction, quality, affordable housing to your community," Brie Lease, CHOM development director, told the board. Acorn's civil engineer Nate Holt described the parcel as just under a half-acre with two vacant multifamily buildings to be removed and a proposed paved parking lot with 11 stalls, evergreen buffers, two 15-foot dark-sky compliant light poles, and a rain garden to capture and treat runoff before it enters the town's MS4 system. "This has been designed to collect the entire parking area…not only provide treatment and water quality benefits but it will also slow the peak rate of runoff," Holt said.
Project architect Ryan Senator showed plans for a two-level building with first-floor common space and two one-bedroom apartments and upper floors with two-bedroom units (four per floor) to reach the 10-unit total. Board members pressed the team on sound insulation and fire protection; the architect and engineer said partitions will be insulated for good STC ratings and the building will include the required sprinkler system.
CHOM said financing will rely on a mix of subsidies and grants; Lease said rents will be restricted to households at or below 60% of area median income but that exact rents are "not specified" pending final underwriting. On parking, the team said their design exceeds town calculations and referenced recent state law changes: "LD247" was cited in the presentation as limiting multifamily parking requirements in designated growth zones to no more than a 1:1 ratio, a standard the applicant said they are exceeding.
The board and the project team discussed steep grade changes that limit direct, accessible pedestrian connections to French Street; the team said they oriented the building to the street and will provide a rear tenant gathering area but did not propose a direct accessible path to the walking bridge because of a roughly seven-foot grade change. The engineers outlined overflow strategies for the rain garden, including a catch basin sized for a 10-year flow and a drainage structure to intercept larger storm events.
No formal vote was taken; members encouraged the applicant to submit a full application and staff agreed to coordinate further review with the fire department and other service providers. The applicant said it aims to break ground in the fall, contingent on permitting and financing.
Next steps: CHOM and Acorn will file a full application for staff review and a public hearing; the planning board asked staff to circulate comments from the fire department and utility providers before that meeting.
