OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Just a half mile from the beach is a new senior housing complex.

Milliken Heights, a project of The Szanton Company, is a four-story building with 55 one-bedroom apartments for renters 55 and older. The recent opening of the building was celebrated Tuesday with a ceremony attended by builders, town officials, residents of the building, and others.

“It’s designed with energy efficiency in mind,” said Szanton Company Development Officer Kristin Martin. The building has triple-glazed windows, high-grade insulation, and heating/cooling via mini-split heat pumps in each apartment, said Martin. The building also has a community room, fitness center, onsite laundry and indoor bicycle storage, she said.

The kitchen of an apartment in Milliken Heights. SBN STAFF/Liz Gotthelf

 

Thirteen of the units are market rate apartments, with rent set at $1450 to $1495 a month, she said. The remaining 42 units are restricted to those who earn 60 percent or below the area median income, and they rent for $1,113 a month, said Martin.

The building opened its doors to tenants on March 15. Martin said all the market rate units are occupied, and 28 of the 42 income-restricted apartments were occupied. She said the company is reviewing applications and expects the building to soon be fully occupied.

Sarah Lawrence of U.S Representative Chellie Pingree’s office read a letter by Pingree.

“This is a win all-around. Milliken Heights provides older Mainers with clean, safe, affordable housing that enables them to live independently while staying connected to their community,” said Pingree in the letter.

Nathan Szanton, president of Scanton company, thanked Old Orchard Beach town officials for approving the contract zone and TIF (tax increment financing district) that allowed the project to move forward.

“For that we are very grateful,” he said.

The TIF refunds 80 percent of the taxes on the property back to the development company for 15 years, and Szanton. This 15-year refund agreement allowed the company to secure a loan from MaineHousing so the project could move forward, said Szanton. The contract zone was needed to change the zoning at the location to accommodate the building’s height and housing density, and to allow one parking space per unit instead of two.

Town Councilor Larry Mead said given the current challenges of finding affordable housing ,the building was a Godsend to the seniors who live there.

“What makes this so great is the location – right downtown. It’s phenomenal,” he said, noting that it wasn’t just close to the beach, but also within walking distance to a grocery store, a hardware store, a bank, the post office, restaurants and coffee shops.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.