Yarmouth breaks ground on 18 affordable housing units behind town hall
Local and state housing leaders ceremonially shovel dirt for the groundbreaking of 36 Cleaves Street, 18 affordable one-bedroom units behind Yarmouth's Town Hall. (Sophie Burchell/Staff Writer)
Construction began this week to raise 18 units of affordable housing in Yarmouth. The development on Cleaves Street, in Yarmouth Village behind Town Hall , is the first affordable housing project built in the town since 2018.
The development follows the Town Council turning its attention to the need for affordable housing over the past six years, with both a local affordable housing committee and nonprofit arising from the effort to assess and increase affordable housing stock.
The 18 one-bedroom apartments, split between two buildings, will have a projected monthly rent of $1,800 including utilities, according to the developer, 36 Cleaves Street, LLC. MaineHousing helped fund the bulk of the development with a $3.1 million subsidy from the Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program and a $2.9 million interest-free loan, said a MaineHousing spokesperson. The total cost of the development is $6.3 million.
The design for the eight-unit building that makes up half of the affordable housing development on Cleaves Street. (Courtesy of Town of Yarmouth)
“We’re laying the foundation for a more inclusive, welcoming, and resilient community,” said Council Chair David Craig at the groundbreaking ceremony Thursday.
“We’re leading by example by authorizing this project to be built right here in the heart of the village, literally in the Town’s Hall’s backyard.”
Affordable housing developments are few and far between in Yarmouth, with a new build about every 20 years over the past half-century. The most recent project was Bartlett Woods, which was approved in 2015 and completed in 2018, bringing 28 units of senior housing through a collaboration between the nonprofits Avesta Housing and Yarmouth Senior Housing.
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To address the lack of affordable housing in Yarmouth, in 2020 the Town Council established the Yarmouth Affordable Housing Committee. In 2024, based on the committee’s recommendation, the Town Council adopted the goal of producing 431 units of affordable housing in Yarmouth over the next decade.
Approved by the Planning Board in January 2025, the Cleaves Street units are the first 18 steps forward toward meeting that goal.
As the Yarmouth Affordable Housing Committee serves to advise the town, three years ago residents formed the nonprofit Yarmouth Housing Collaborative to actively spur affordable housing projects such as 36 Cleaves Street.
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“We’re not developers, but we’re the spark,” said Margaret Downing, executive director and board chair of the Yarmouth Housing Collaborative.
Construction on Cleaves Street is expected to last one year, with the buildings set to be enclosed by January. Apartment applications will open in 2027. To qualify, applicants must make less than $77,920 for a single-person household or $89,040 for a two-person household, which is 80% of the area median income, according to the developer.
The impacts of the construction on Cleaves Street are expected to be limited, said town staff. During construction, parking at Town Hall is being temporarily reconfigured and will be permanently adjusted after the project is complete. The ballot drop box, currently in the rear parking lot behind Town Hall, will be moved to the horseshoe parking lot between the front of Town Hall and Memorial Green soon, said the town.
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Tagged: affordable housing, construction, housing
Sophie is a community reporter for Cumberland, Yarmouth, North Yarmouth and Falmouth and previously reported for the Forecaster. Her memories of briefly living on Mount Desert Island as a child drew her. More by Sophie Burchell
