CANTON – People interested in building a home in the new village center, known as Village Ridge, are encouraged to attend an open house Friday to learn about the homes available and how to apply to buy one.

Representatives from the Greater Brunswick Housing Authority and Bangor Savings Bank, along with the town’s Special Projects Committee, will be available to help determine eligibility, and to show the options of housing available.

Diane Ray, chairwoman of the Special Projects Committee, said home styles, all in the $160,000 price range, include ranches, bi-levels, and capes of 1,000- to 1,300-square-feet. The lot size will allow future construction of a two-car garage.

Although the homes are in the $160,000 range, she said some applicants may be eligible for discounts.

She stressed, however, that these homes are not subsidized housing and are targeted for moderate-income families, with displaced Canton homeowners receiving priority, followed by first-time home buyers.

Floor plans will be shown, as will photographs of similar homes built by the Greater Brunswick Housing Authority on the mid-coast. The authority is a nonprofit organization.

Plans are to begin construction in the spring of 2008. In about two years, Ray said all 40 homes should be built and purchased in the town’s new village center.

Funds for a community center for the new village will be sought at a later time.

Village Ridge can be accessed from both Route 108 and and Route 140.

The new housing availability and establishment of a new village center is the result of several years of working toward a buyout and removal of up to 65 homes that are or had been located on the floodplain. The new village project started, in concept, before the most recent flood in December 2003, which caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.

Ray said the final round of buyouts of the homes on the floodplain is in process. She said all such homes should be bought and demolished, and the land on which they sit reclaimed for park land.

When the project is complete, about 70 acres will be available for such things as multi-use trails, nature walks, recreation fields, and wetland preservation.

About $6.7 million in state and federal money has been used to buy the homes and land parcels, raze the structures and assist displaced homeowners. She said about 50 of the eligible homes in the floodplain will have taken part in the buyout by time the project is complete.

For those who cannot make the Friday open house, application packages will become available at the town office.