Veazie housing complex poised for prep work

VEAZIE – After four big whacks with a golden sledgehammer Tuesday morning, Coda Little had left a noticeable dent in the brick wall on the side of the John Graham School on Flagg Street.

It was a small dent, but it was enough to mark the ceremonial start of the school’s demolition and the next step in the prep work for the John Graham Senior Housing Complex, which will be erected on the site.

After serving as president of the Veazie Seniors Club for 10 years, Little has been eager to see the 20 senior housing units and community center get under way.

“I’m tickled to death to see this baby get started this morning,” Little, 77, said. “I’ve been working on this a long time and now it’s finally paid off.”

The $2.8 million project will involve renovating the front portion of the school and converting it into a community space for tenants and other senior citizens in the town. The back portion will be replaced with one- and two-bedroom rental units.

The complex is a cooperative effort developed through the Maine State Housing Authority, the Maine Housing Investment Fund, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston and the town’s community development fund.

The assistance from the town was instrumental in helping the complex become a reality, according to Stephen Mooers, director of Housing at Penquis CAP, the nonprofit agency which will own the project.

“For a lot of the towns we go into, this is not an easy process,” Mooers said.

Mooers said the complex is unique because it’s being funded by tax credits. The proposal for the senior center was competing with a number of good programs in the southern part of the state, according to Mooers.

“I’d like to see more of these [centers], but it’s like anything else – it’s about money,” Mooers said.

Mooers also said the contractor, P.M. McKay of Bangor, is actually slightly ahead of schedule and hopes to start pouring concrete in a couple of weeks. The demolition and construction process will take almost a year and involve 30 workers, according to project manager Steve Burton.

Mooers added that the site has a footprint for 16 additional units and that could prove useful with 45 to 50 people already expressing an interest in renting a unit. Eligibility for selection will be based on income with a maximum of $18,000 to $22,000 a year.

James Varner, the vice chairman for the board of directors at Penquis CAP, said the organization is hoping the new center will be comprehensive in its uses.

“This center will be a place where the senior citizens can gather and discuss their concerns, bring in speakers and entertain their families,” Varner said.

A senior citizen himself, Varner believes the new center will serve as a valuable component of the community.

“People sometimes forget that many of us senior citizens still have a fire burning in our furnace and we still want to make a contribution to society,” Varner said. “You don’t get to be this old without learning something and our wisdom needs to be tapped.”