New condos, new apartments and rehab work in downtown Lewiston are sparking interest and pride.
By Kathryn Skelton
Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Five condominiums arrived Tuesday on Maple Street. Down the road, work continued on new townhouse apartments, outer shells complete. Closer to Kennedy Park, interior rehab work above Speaker’s Variety was nearly finished.

Downtown housing projects are coming right along.

Excavation began in June along Maple and Knox streets to make way for 16 new apartments, built by Community Concepts. Units are at various stages, said Wayne Petersen of the P.M. MacKAY Group, the general contractor.

The porch columns are up, the windows in. Buildings on the right side of the road, looking up the hill, have three-bedroom townhouses. On the left side, there’s a mix of three and four bedrooms. A one-story building along Knox Street has two handicap-accessible units and a community laundry room.

The first building will be done by the first of the year, Petersen said. He hopes to finish in February. More than 80 people have worked on the project, from siders to sheetrockers.

Petersen said several people stop by each week, asking questions. He has given little tours.

Community Concepts has started a waiting list of potential tenants, according to Dennis Lajoie. The list isn’t too long yet, he said.

People will be able to move in a few weeks after the last inspection. The project has been pegged around a need for more affordable housing units.

The new condominiums atop Maple Street target owner-occupied affordable housing and join two units put in last fall by Sisters of Charity Health System.

Those two units have owners, said Mike Grimmer, project manager and vice president of facilities. Two of the new units are still for sale, two are in the process of being sold and the last will be used as a model home.

Those condos will be ready for occupancy by Christmas.

The units cost $130,000 to develop, but mortgages start at $40,000, based on income and family size. At that base price, a monthly mortgage, taxes and condo fees cost $470 a month, Grimmer said.

“There’s a lot of people that are interested, then a lot have credit issues,” he said. “The nature of the financing requires them to have a squeaky clean credit report.” An unpaid bill or old phone bill can mess that up.

To help potential owners, Sisters of Charity has partnered with Community Concepts to start a peer support group called Credit Counts in January. Participants will get counseling and guidance, and have to be willing to bear their financial souls.

Grimmer hopes to have 10 initial participants, and at the close of the group in June, have five people ready to move into their new homes.

The development, planned to top off at 15 condominiums, has already had an impact on the neighborhood, Grimmer said. Across the street the owner of a multi-unit building fixed up the exterior. The store next door added a new awning and porch.

“I do believe the neighborhood is starting to develop its own identity,” he said.

Jim Andrews, community development director for Lewiston, said interior work on the units above Speaker’s Variety Store is nearly complete. Its 16 units are being converted to two duplexes and four to six co-ops. The store is being renovated as well. Units will be owner-occupied.

For more information about the Credit Counts program or for more information on the Maple and Knox townhouses call Community Concepts at 795-4065.