Governor Janet Mills and MaineHousing announced the launch of a $20 million program supported by the Governor’s Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan to tackle Maine’s housing shortage by expanding the availability of affordable rental housing across rural Maine.
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The Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program will provide funding to build smaller affordable rental housing units.
Under the program, projects must be between 5 and 18 units in size and may either be new construction, rehabilitation of existing housing, or reuse of existing buildings into livable spaces for low- and moderate-income households.
The program is funded with $10 million from the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, the plan proposed by Governor Mills and approved by the Legislature to invest nearly $1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act to support Maine’s economic recovery from the pandemic.
It is also funded with $10 million from MaineHousing using money the agency gained last year by refinancing existing bonds and purchasing new bonds at lower interest rates or from the agency’s Housing Opportunities for Maine (HOME) fund.
“I come from western Maine, so I know firsthand that our rural communities offer an extraordinary quality of life – a quality of life that I want every person in Maine who desires it to enjoy fully,” said Governor Janet Mills.
“But the lack of affordable housing in rural areas, to buy or to rent, is a real barrier. This program through my Jobs Plan is meant to tackle that problem and ensure that Maine people will have access to housing they can afford so they can put down roots and contribute to the success of our state. I thank MaineHousing for its partnership on this important project.”
To address the shortage of affordable housing, the rural housing program will provide zero percent interest, forgivable loans, and funding for acquisition and substantial rehabilitation or construction of affordable rental housing units.
Housing units built or rehabilitated by the program will need to be maintained as affordable, as measured based on area’s median household income, for 45 years. ■
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