So who’s going to do it? Which Maine cities are going to take all the interest from new residents and housing developers, and turn it into something special?
The opportunity is now, as people and capital flow to these areas for their combination of things to do and small-town charm. It’s a chance for these cities to steer investment where they want it, and to make their communities more strong and vibrant.
Augusta is one of these cities. In just one proposal in the city’s pipeline, a Massachusetts-based developer wants to build 260 small, market-rate apartments on undeveloped land near the Marketplace at Augusta.
A computer-generated rendering shows what the proposed five-building apartment complex off Eight Rod Road in Augusta could look like. Courtesy of John Flatley Company
Residents should welcome this sort of development. With housing prices skyrocketing, Augusta has an unquestioned need for one- and two-bedroom apartments — as well as other forms of housing — and the land is within walking distance to shopping and other amenities and workplaces.
That doesn’t mean they should accept it uncritically. A proposal doesn’t always get it right the first time. Making sure that a community gets the right kind of development is a team effort — good ideas can come from anywhere.
For example, if one of the selling points is that it’s within walking distance of the shopping center, then city leaders should make sure that walking and bicycling are safe there. They should make sure that the development is part of a concerted effort to put housing where it makes sense, and to build infrastructure around the housing that supports residents, new and old alike.
But what they can’t do is just say no. They can’t just throw a fence up around their city and say everything is fine the way it is.
Not only is that patently unfair to those searching for a safe, comfortable and affordable place to call home, it’s also shortsighted. A city that chooses not to grow will only find itself worse off than those that do.
Among those that have decided to grow are places like Auburn, Westbrook and Scarborough, which have all taken steps to guide the enormous interest in their cities into beneficial development.
(Portland, which has had victories and setbacks related to housing in recent years, has its own set of unique circumstances.)
In Westbrook, rezoning has drawn more mixed-use development downtown, allowing new residents and businesses to move into an area with a lot to offer.
In Auburn, Mayor Jason Levesque hopes to increase the population by 25%, aiming not for well-off new residents but working-class folks. Development there will help people who now are forced to commute from increasingly unaffordable housing in outlying towns, adding stress to their lives and limiting their options.
These efforts have not been without pushback. People don’t like change, particularly not next door, and elected officials have every reason to listen to residents.
But they also need to think of future residents, and the future of their community.
The cities that thrive in coming years will be the ones who create an environment for people from all walks of life — young and old, low income and high, owner and worker, whether your family has been here for generations or just arrived. They will be the ones at the center of everything exciting, fulfilling and profitable.
Maine’s modest-sized cities are great places to live. If more people get that opportunity, they’ll be even better.
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