The Center has purchased 5 acres on Spruce Street in Greenville, Maine to develop much needed middle-income housing.
The project is in its preliminary stages building on more than four years of work with local partners. Below are some frequently asked questions about the project. If you have further questions about the project, please contact Mike Wilson.
The Center owns 5 acres of land on Spruce Street to build housing – within walking distance of downtown, the school, the hospital, and recreation opportunities.
We are working on phased development of a mix of housing options and types to meet community needs – including single family and duplex buildings – to meet the needs of middle-income people and families.
There will be a mix of homes available for year-round rent and for sale as full-time residences. None of the properties will be available for short-term rental.
The Center is working with the Town of Greenville to extend public infrastructure to the building site. Our goal is to begin construction of new homes in 2026.
We anticipate building between 27-30 new homes in a phased approach over 2 to 3 years.
The Center’s goal is to produce middle-income housing with units designed to be financially in reach for average wage earners in the Greenville area. This is not a traditional “affordable housing” project with related income restrictions. We use area median income and research on Greenville-area salaries to determine affordable rental rates and sale prices.
No, the units will be for year-round residents with standard 1-year leases and restrictions to prevent use as short term rentals.
The Center has been collaborating with the Town of Greenville, Moosehead Lake Region Economic Development Corporation, CA Dean – Northern Light Hospital, and others throughout the project.
The Center has been working in the Moosehead Region for many years. Our projects include our Tourism Innovation Grants program that invested more than $200,000 to help tourism-related businesses in the region update facilities and implement innovations that help create new job opportunities; façade grants to help businesses improve storefronts; financial support for restoring the Greenville lakefront boardwalk and conserving Crafts Landing Park; technical and financial assistance to Destination Moosehead Lake; and working with the Maine Office of Tourism to implement the Community Destination Academy.
The Center will use a mix of funding sources to make this development financially feasible. Sources include impact investment funds, private gifts, and grants. If you are interested in contributing to this important community project, please contact Hannah McCarthy, donor and investor relations associate.
The Center is a regional innovation and investment partner creating rural vibrancy by connecting people, economy, and the forested landscape. Legally, we are a non-profit organization; a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. We work across the Northern Forest region of northern Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York.
To help address the housing crisis in Northern Forest communities, we broadened our suite of programs in 2017 to include property development. We focus on downtown properties and the potential to catalyze community redevelopment.
In our first housing project, the Millinocket Housing Initiative, we invested $1 million to renovate 6 dilapidated houses and created 11 apartments, all leased to year-round residents. We have begun to sell several of the properties with deed covenants.
Our second project redeveloped an 11,000-square-foot building on Main Street in Lancaster, NH, to create 6 new apartments and commercial space to house a local food market.
Our most recently completed projects include redevelopment of a 15,000-square-foot building in St. Johnsbury, VT, to create 9 apartments and 2 renovated storefront spaces, and an important historic development project in Bethel, Maine that created 9 new apartments. Other ongoing projects in Tupper Lake, NY, will create 9 apartments and a renovated single-family home, and a historic renovation in Elizabethtown, NY will create 5 new apartments.
The Center uses a variety of capital sources to fund property purchases and development. We raise private donations and grants, grants from public agencies, tax credits, and impact investment dollars – a mix of funding that enables the Center to take on challenging property development projects that do not attract commercial developers. By using low-cost capital and gifts and grants, we are able to create high-quality living spaces and make them affordable to middle income renters.
The Center’s development model includes ownership and management of most properties for up to 10 years, at which point we will sell the properties to another property manager or as condominiums. In either case, the goal is to ensure that properties remain available as long-term housing for local residents.
The Center redeveloped the historic Parker J. Noyes 11,000-square-foot building on Lancaster’s Main Street to support the local economy and create a more vibrant downtown.
In its first impact investment fund, the Center raised $1 million to enhance Millinocket’s rental housing market as part of our broader community revitalization efforts.
The Center has purchased 560 Railroad Street in St. Johnsbury and plans to redevelop the building as a mix of small commercial rentals and middle-market housing.
