Westbrook Housing

Our History When The Housing Authority of the City ofWestbrook(now Westbrook Housing) was founded in 1969, it was assigned the task of establishing general assistance housing units for Westbrook families and seniors. The first Board of Commissioners (Arthur Berry, George Elliott, Nancy Kelson, Emerson Elwell, and Corrine Turgeon) considered several parcels of land before designating sixty units of elderly housing to be constructed onKnight Street—today known as Riverview Terrace. Forty units of family housing were included in the same grant and constructed off Route 25 onJuniper Lane(Pine Knoll Terrace). Pine Knoll Terrace was renovated in the early 1990’s and sold to first-time homebuyers as the Juniper Lane Condominiums. With the assistance of Westbrook Development Corporation (WDC), Westbrook Housing has expanded from 100 units of traditional public housing in the early 1970’s to include nine communities of 479 apartments for low-income seniors, disabled individuals, and families in 2013. Section 8/Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program During the early 1970’s, the City set some affordable housing goals for families. Westbrook Housing responded by requesting 25 Section 8 Certificates. The Section 8 program has become a real partner to the community by enabling local landlords to maintain their property while filling their units with qualified families. The program pays landlords a portion of the rent through the Section 8 subsidy, about $5.87 million annually. Housing Urban Development (HUD) converted all of the certificates to Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) and Westbrook Housing’s program has grown to 805 vouchers—100 of which are designated for the disabled community through the Mainstream program. The Role of Westbrook Development Corporation (WDC) In large part, Westbrook Development Corporation (WDC) is responsible for Westbrook Housing’s expansion to 479 units of affordable housing. Created in 1987, and an authorized 501(c)(3), WDC’s mission is: “Among other charitable purposes, to provide decent housing that is affordable to low and moderate income persons.” (Please note that the terms Westbrook Housing and Westbrook Development Corporation (WDC) are often interchangeable for the reporting of current and future developments.) With HUD funds diminishing, Westbrook Housing has been involved in alternative financing options that have led to the development of a variety of new housing opportunities that have satisfied some of the need for workforce housing within the greater Westbrook area. The Hay property on Main Street, for example, includes 13 affordable rental units and was completed in late 2005. In 2006, WDC seized an opportunity and created Homestead Village, which fulfilled the workforce housing need for 18 families with three-bedroom, affordable, walk-up condos. That same year, WDC added 26 affordable two and three bedroom apartments on Lincoln Street, Golder Commons. These apartments joined the site of the existing eight-unit community of School House Commons that was rehabilitated as part of the overall Golder Commons Property. Also in 2006, WDC convertedForestStreetSchool from an elementary school into 12 one and two-bedroom urban condominiums. A year later, WDC converted the former Haskell Silk Mill into 44 condominiums—39 in the mill itself and 5 in the creamery. All the units sold within nine months, mostly to younger professionals seeking their first homes. Westbrook Development Corporation again targeted the first-time home buyer, younger professional market when it developed the former St. Patrick’s School in Portland (renamed The Landmark at Whitney) into15 one-bedroom condominiums in late 2008. By partnering with Portland Housing Authority, all the units sold despite the challenging real estate market. We look forward to collaborating again with Portland Housing Authority to develop properties targeted to younger professionals trying to buy their first homes. Our newest communities are in downtown Westbrook. Spring Crossing is on the banks of the Penobscot River, at 19 Ash Street behind the Main Street Post Office. Spring Crossing is a 34 unit tax-credit, affordable rental property for people ages 55 and older. The three-unit work/live development at 917 Main Street used funding from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program to return live-work housing in downtown Westbrook, a concept that had all but disappeared with urban renewal. By the end of 2012, WDC—in partnership with Woodfords Family Services—used funds realized from the sale of 917 Main Street to adapt two units at 119 Saco Street into apartments for developmentally disabled adults. Westbrook Services Corporation (WSC) Since 2002, Westbrook Services Corporation (WSC) has been committed to raising money for affordable housing development and the myriad of support services that are essential for our residents to the healthy aging in place. In late 2011, the city turned the gymnasium at the old WestbrookHigh School, now known as Presumpscot Commons, over to Westbrook Housing. WSC began major fund-raising efforts This exciting venture should help to fill a void in the greater Westbrook area for our aging population. Completed in late 2013, Presumpscot Place is gearing up through membership to meet their demands. Looking Forward Westbrook Housing continues to be successful because we change our focus to adjust to low-income funding shifts while we fulfill our core mission. Westbrook Development Corporation and Westbrook Services Corporation provide critical direction and support as we move from the deeply subsidized housing of the past, into today’s unsettling reality of low-income housing. With overall opportunities fewer—and more expensive—our objectives today center on the workforce rental and home-ownership market.