FARMINGTON — As a senior housing complex nears the halfway point to completion, developers have had more than 60 inquiries and have started a list of potential occupants.

Brookside Village Affordable Senior Housing is about 50 percent complete,  developer William Marceau said recently. 

Marceau and Byron “Buzz” Davis broke ground for the apartments at 247 Fairbanks Road last June. They are scheduled to finish construction by mid-June and shooting for occupancy to start July 1, Davis said.

“Everything is on schedule, on time and on budget,” Davis said. “It’s going well and according to plan. There’s a good team working in tough conditions.”

This is the first senior housing built in Farmington in 30 years.

There are 32 one-bedroom units in the new building, but there’s interest enough to fill twice that number, Marceau said.

“It’s sad,” he said. “It’s not just here but throughout the country.”

Tenants will pay 30 percent of their adjusted gross income, Marceau previously said. The target group of tenants will be those 62 years and older with an annual adjusted gross income of $16,000 or less, he said.

Applications will be sent out in mid-February, Davis said.  A lot of people locally have expressed interest, he added.

A crew from H.E. Callahan of Auburn, the contractor for the project, is making everything weather tight and starting to sheetrock the inside, he said.  

The recent cold weather has made it hard for construction crews, Davis said.

There are five major energy certifications that require a lot scrutiny and inspections, he said.

The housing is one of the first multifamily buildings in Maine not to use fossil fuels.  It will have 228 solar panels on the roof to provide all electrical needs and a geothermal heating system. A total of 15 geothermal wells are under the parking lot, Davis said.

The height of the building fits in with surrounding barns, he said.

An E.L. Vining crew worked on the pond, which involves an area for stormwater to collect and settle before it goes into the pond, he said. A willow tree that comes up out of the pond was saved.

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