FARMINGTON — The 82 High Street board of directors will meet Thursday to discuss options for moving forward on the housing development’s proposed modular apartment building project.

The news of Keiser Homes in Oxford closing “was a shock to us,” board Chairwoman Janet Smith said. “We are still sorting out how this will affect our process.”

In a third development phase at 82 High Street, three aging apartment buildings will be razed. Plans included replacing them with three modular buildings constructed by Keiser Homes.

An application for a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant was just filed, Steve Kaiser, code enforcement officer, said. Voters approved the town’s involvement as administrator of the grant during the March town meet.

“No one is feeling like this is an end to the project — just a glitch,” Smith said. “It’s too early to tell what this is going to do to our timeline.”

The board is waiting to hear about the CBDG funding, she said.  

The grant application was due in May. The complex’s governing board hoped to be approved by early July so the project could be finished by November. 

The housing development received a $500,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank and a $540,000 loan from Franklin Savings Bank earlier this year for the $1.54 million project.

Board members intend to meet with Deb Johnson, a representative from the Department of Economic and Community Development, to discuss the process going forward, she said.

A downpayment on the Keiser buildings was made but Cousineau Inc. of Wilton, the local Keiser Home dealer, has assured the board they will be good for the deposit, she said.

“We want to do the right thing,” Joey Cousineau said Monday. “We won’t let them lose anything or be hurt.”

The plans included three Keiser modular buildings containing four apartments each.  

Cousineau said their intention is to provide any services that they can for the board, if it decides it wants them to continue on the project, he said. 

abryant@sunmediagroup.net