Proposed development would bring affordable apartments, walking trails to Biddeford

BIDDEFORD —  The city has entered a two-fold agreement that will give tax credits to a developer proposing 250 affordable apartments on Barra Road will allow for collaboration with the city on a master plan for abutting property, which will include senior housing and a walking trail system.

The apartments would be located at the end of Barra Road, a street that is home to several medical offices, and are being proposed by Saxon Partners on land it is purchasing from Eon Entities. Rents for the proposed market rate apartments would cost “significantly less” than rates at many of the units downtown and at newer developments in the city, said Mike Eon of Eon Entities in a letter to City Manager Jim Bennett.

The proposed apartment complex has received letters of support from the University of New England, Biddeford + Saco Chamber of Commerce + Industry and Southern Maine Health Care.

Under the terms of a twenty-year credit enhancement agreement, which was approved by the City Council on Tuesday night, Saxon Partners will pay the city $255,000, an estimated 67 percent of its annual property tax, for the first year after the project is completed. This number will increase two percent annually in years two through five. In years six through 20, Saxon Partners will pay the city 65 percent of its annual property tax. Saxon Partners will also contribute $125,000 to Biddeford’s affordable housing goals under the agreement.

The City Council also approved a joint development agreement through which Eon will collaborate with the city to create a Master Plan for property abutting the apartments. Under this agreement, a 35 to 45 unit senior housing complex is being considered – and if it doesn’t get developed within an agreed time the parcel set aside for the project would go to the city. The agreement also includes the development of a trail and sidewalk network that would connect the Eastern Trail to the RiverWalk Trail.

The projects by Saxon Partner and Eon Entities would help fulfill three of the five objectives in the city’s five-year housing goals and strategies, said Planning and Development Director Mathew Eddy in a memo to the City Council.  The projects would help fulfill goals for the creation of residential units from new construction and units for households with incomes of 40 to 80 percent of the area median income. A portion of the remaining acreage could be used to create new homes for growing families, which would help fulfill a third goal.

The City Council approved the agreements with the developers in a six to two vote on Tuesday, with Councilors Michael Ready and John McCurry in opposition and Councilor Ashanti Williams absent.

“I just have a real problem with this one,” said McCurry. He said he was opposed to subsidizing the project by giving a tax break, as the city didn’t know how it would increase the use of city services.

“The normal taxpayers have to pay up the tab,” he said.

Councilor Doris Ortiz said she supported the agreements because she believed the creation of affordable housing and trails were benefits to the community.

 “I can appreciate it and I think it’s generous,” she said.

Councilor Marc Lessard said the average taxes on a property on Barra Road was just over $42,000, while the proposed project would generate $255,000 in taxes in its first year.

“It will generate six times what we’re getting from other lots on the Barra Road,” he said.

Lessard said that the target audience for the 250 unit building was not families with children, and as it would not substantially increase the amount of local students, it would not have a huge impact on school services. He said the project would add monetary value to the property and  give the city desperately needed housing while giving the city the opportunity to work with a developer on a master plan.

“Other cities would drool to have this opportunity to be able to do this,” he said.

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