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<div> <STRONG>Group tries to keep island community viable through affordable housing project</STRONG><br>
Posted By Tom Groening On May 15, 2012 (7:15 pm) In <A title="View all posts in Midcoast" href="http://bangordailynews.com/browse/news/midcoast/" rel="category tag" target=_blank>Midcoast</A>, <A title="View all posts in News" href="http://bangordailynews.com/browse/news/" rel="category tag" target=_blank>News</A></div>
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<div>ISLESBORO, Maine \u2014 Rick Rogers is a recent transplant to this Penobscot Bay island community, but he understands its challenges.</div>
<div>\u201cWe\u2019re trying to keep these places from turning into retirement communities,\u201d he said Tuesday. When young people leave, when a school closes, when middle- and working-class families no longer can afford housing, \u201cit\u2019s over,\u201d said Rogers, himself a retiree.</div>
<div>To stem that tide, a nonprofit group called <A class=c3 href="http://www.genesisfund.org/islesboro.htm" target=_blank>Islesboro Affordable Property</A>, formed in 1988, continues to develop homes that local folks can buy or rent. Most recently, the Waldo County island saw two modular homes delivered by barge and set up on donated land.</div>
<div>\u201cIn the last three years, we\u2019ve had a market survey done to determine, from a third-party perspective, what the island needs,\u201d Rogers said. And topping the list of needs is affordable, year-round rental properties.</div>
<div>Property and buildings on islands typically are highly valued on the real estate market. Wealthy out-of-staters often build or renovate older houses for summer getaways, which drives up prices.</div>
<div>\u201cThe cost of real estate on all these inhabited [Maine] islands mostly exceeds the ability of people to pay,\u201d especially for moderate- and lower-income people, Rogers said.</div>
<div>Building new or renovating also is expensive because it often is difficult, time-consuming and costly to get materials and equipment onto the island. Transportation options are the ferry service or a private vessel.</div>
<div>Rogers said the affordable housing group, for which he is the paid executive director, decided its next project was to establish two three-bedroom, two-bathroom houses that would be rented to income-eligible residents. Eligibility typically is 120 percent of federal adjusted median income limits. These two houses bring the group\u2019s total units to 14. The first eight were sold to income-eligible people; subsequent sales of those must occur at affordable rates.</div>
<div>After seeking bids from a couple of island-based building contractors, who declined given that they\u2019d have to meet certain MaineHousing insurance standards, the group sought bids from manufactured housing dealers. <A class=c3 href="http://www.prayshomes.com/" target=_blank>Pray\u2019s Homes</A> of Belfast won the contract.</div>
<div>Funds for this latest round of housing came from a MaineHousing bond, assisted by the nonprofit <A class=c3 href="http://www.genesisfund.org/" target=_blank>Genesis Fund.</A></div>
<div>An island donor who prefers to remain anonymous gave three 1.5-acre parcels of land near the community\u2019s center for the houses. The third lot will available for development in the future.</div>
<div>\u201cIt\u2019s within walking distance of the store,\u201d Rogers said, and near the library and school.</div>
<div>Among those who are living in the affordable units developed by the group are an administrative assistant, ed techs, a teacher, cooks and cleaners at the school, the captain of the island water taxi, the owner of the local newspaper, ferry workers and contractors.</div>
<div>\u201cWe try to support those who are integral to running the island,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to maintain a certain socioeconomic segment.\u201d</div>
<div>Rogers, a retired Delta airline pilot who settled on the island in 2005, relocating from Indiana, said the group\u2019s mission is to help Islesboro remain \u201ca vital and successful year-round community\u201d by providing quality, affordable housing.</div>
<div>Article taken from Bangor Daily News - <A href="http://bangordailynews.com/" target=_blank>http://bangordailynews.com</A><br>
URL to article: <A href="http://bangordailynews.com/2012/05/15/news/midcoast/group-tries-to-keep-island-community-viable-through-affordable-housing-project/" target=_blank>http://bangordailynews.com/2012/05/15/news/midcoast/group-tries-to-keep-island-community-viable-through-affordable-housing-project/</A></div>
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