Of all the housing projects proposed or approved in Bangor this year, three stand out.
If created in the coming years, the three could bring more than 600 units to a city that has grappled for years with not having enough affordable and quality housing, which mirrors a housing shortage being felt across the state.
The three projects would also add diverse types of housing to the city’s housing stock, said Anne Krieg, Bangor’s economic development director. The new housing offerings could meet the needs of area residents who previously couldn’t find a housing option that met their space and budget restrictions.
Here’s where those projects stand.
Grandview Avenue
Bangor city leaders set their sights on bringing a large housing development to a chunk of city-owned land on Grandview Avenue and took several steps in 2024 to advance that goal.
Krieg said in February 2024 that the 10-acre plot on the southern side of Grandview Avenue between Hillside Avenue and Darling Parke Drive could hold up to 100 units in varying styles.
To help bring the project to life, the city council agreed in July to use roughly $2 million in remaining pandemic recovery funding to pay for road infrastructure and utilities, such as water and sewer pipes, to be brought to the area. Doing this, they believed, would prepare the land to be built on and save a future developer money.
In October, city councilors authorized the city manager to negotiate an agreement with Developers Collaborative, a Portland-based housing development company, for the construction of up to 75 housing units on the land.
City staff are now working with Developer’s Collaborative to draft a purchase and sale and development agreements, according to Krieg. A first draft of those documents will likely be brought to the city council for review next month.
Dorm-style housing on Stillwater Avenue
The Bangor Planning Board in July unanimously approved the construction of a 55-unit dormitory at 416 Stillwater Ave. to act as short-term housing.
Once constructed, residents in the 21,000-square-foot building, located next to MaineSpace self-storage facility, will have their own room, but share common spaces, like bathrooms and kitchens.
When the development was proposed last summer, the applicant, 416 Stillwater Avenue LLC, said the building is intended to serve as an extended stay hotel for transient workforce in the area. Guests could be people who are new to the workforce and don’t yet have the income or savings to secure permanent housing.
While the planning board granted the project a land development permit in July, the applicant hasn’t yet filed any permits with the city’s code enforcement office, according to Krieg.
Paul Woods, who is listed as the contact for 416 Stillwater Avenue LLC, did not return requests for comment.
500-unit complex on Stillwater Avenue
Two Bangor-based developers announced in August that they hope to create a large apartment complex on Stillwater Avenue to add more than 500 apartments to the area.
Justin and Nicole Freeman are drafting plans for an apartment complex with nine or 10 two-story buildings, each with between 40 and 60 units, and an office and laundromat on site for residents. The development would offer mostly one-bedroom apartments with some two-bedroom units available.
If created, the development would sit on Stillwater Avenue between Chase Road and Longview Drive, next to BJ’s and Target.
Though the city held pre-application meetings with the developer in 2023, city staff haven’t received a formal land development permit application from the Freemans yet, Krieg said.
Justin Freeman said Dec. 20 that he hopes to submit paperwork to the city next month but is currently “waiting on engineers.”
