More than half of the tiny homes planned for a former Bangor mobile home park have been built since the city approved the project last February.
At the development, located in the former Martel mobile home park at 1337 Hammond St., about 20 of the 34 tiny homes have been built, according to Bangor landlord Louie Morrison, one of the developers of the park.
Since Morrison’s crew can build three homes in about a month, he said the development was intended to quickly add more quality, affordable housing at a time when the city desperately needs it.
“At the end of the day, these homes are a real solution to a real problem,” Morrison said. “I don’t know how you could possibly build 34 homes any faster.”
The new homes are slated to be completed in late spring or early summer, about six months after the Bangor city councilors declared they want to prioritize expanding and improving housing in the city in 2024. The goal aimed to address the lack of available housing, continuously rising rent and purchase costs across Maine and the city’s aging housing stock.
Morrison said he has received about 200 applications for the homes, and companies from across the state and country have contacted him with questions about how the tiny homes are being built.
“I’ve had way more interest than I ever could have possibly imagined,” Morrison said. “I think people will be able to replicate this all over the state, and we’re going to see a lot more of these. I’m more than happy to share the recipe.”
Each home will be about 320 square feet with a 96-square-foot attached porch. The structures sit on a roughly 1,400-square-foot lot with a backyard and one parking space.
Unlike mobile homes, the tiny houses are built on slabs. The units are also completely electric with a heat pump.
Monthly rent for the homes is estimated to be from $800 to $1,200, though Morrison said he’s ready to work with people who may receive state housing assistance.
None of the tenants will move into a home until they’re all completed, Morrison said, as he doesn’t want people to live in an active construction site.
Morrison hopes people can move into the tiny homes within the next six months.
When Morrison and his business partner, Luke McCannell purchased the Martel mobile home park to become the site of the tiny home neighborhood, about nine people were still living in mobile homes at the site.
Of those, Morrison paid to move a few mobile homes to another park in Eddington while others chose to move into apartments Morrison owns. Morrison said he offered his new tenants one year of free rent and arranged for them to pay a significantly reduced rent after the year is over.
One mobile home owner remains on the site and plans to move into a tiny home once they’re completed.
“I would never evict anybody, so I took rehousing the people very seriously,” Morrison said. “I know we did the right thing by making sure these people had a better living situation than before.”
