The Rockland City Council has agreed to a tax deal that’s meant to help a proposed new workforce housing development get off the ground downtown.
At their meeting Monday night, councilors entered what’s known as a credit enhancement agreement with the developers who have proposed building 12 workforce housing units at 18 Elm St.
The project would add to several new housing projects in Rockland, including the Peasley Park development, a 49-unit affordable housing development for seniors, and the Firefly Field project, which includes 13 affordable housing units.
The midcoast is particularly stricken by the housing crisis, with a 2023 report finding that nearly every municipality in the region was generally unaffordable to those earning the median income.
At its Monday night meeting, the Rockland City Council voted unanimously to enter into the credit enhancement agreement with the unnamed developers.
The deal will allow the developers to, over six to eight years, collect $71,000 from a tax-increment financing district in the downtown, as well as an additional credit of $28,800 from the city because of a stormwater project happening in the area, according to information presented to the council.
That combined $100,000 in municipal funding will help the developer compete for financing under MaineHousing’s Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program, using the credit enhancement agreement as a commitment to paying that money over time.
The council’s order also indicates that the town is interested in entering into other credit enhancement agreements with developers of affordable housing.
“The reason why we’re doing this is to be competitive MaineHousing projects, MaineHousing dollars that could go anywhere else in the state,” Councilor Adam Lachman said.
