By
Nancy Carpenter
 |
| Joanne Campbell visits the Winslow family at their home in the AHP-funded Megunticook Estates in Camden, Maine. |
Joanne Campbell is no stranger to the world of affordable housing.
As CRA officer at member Camden National Bank and president of a
local housing agency, Ms. Campbell has an up-close view of Maine’s
coastal communities, where the majority of households cannot afford
to own a median-priced house.
Camden National and its 12 branches serve Knox, Waldo, Lincoln, Cumberland,
and York counties. For the last 130 years, it has been a major source
of financing for the region’s residents and businesses. In
recent years, the member has increasingly been collaborating with
local housing developers to provide affordable homes in the community,
says Ms. Campbell.
The cost of living in coastal Maine has followed the same trajectory
as seaside communities everywhere. Between 2000 and 2004, the five-county
area served by Camden National saw median incomes rise 10 percent
while the median price of a home went up by 50 percent.
Relationships forged between lenders and developers trying to bring
their projects to market will only strengthen in coming years as
government subsidies dwindle and retirees with longer life expectancies
demand housing they can afford, says Ms. Campbell.
Thanks to her work as head of the Camden Affordable Housing Organization
(CAHO), she knows what it takes for a developer to bring an idea
to fruition. CAHO recently finished a two-year effort to create the
24-unit Lupine Terrace in Camden. The agency conceived, planned,
and secured financing and permitting for the subdivision, where 14
units of “workforce” housing were priced at $157,500
or less. The housing went on sale in September of 2005 when the median
asking price for homes in Camden was $450,000 and only four homes
were listed at less than $175,000 (source: Multiple Listing Service).
Ms. Campbell’s role at Camden National Bank provides ample
opportunities to seek financing for affordable housing through the
Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (the Bank).
“Over three years, the Affordable Housing Program (AHP) brought in $506,000
toward development costs on four different projects in our area,” she
says.
Among them is Megunticook Estates, a cluster of 10 single-family
homes built for low- and very low-income buyers. Megunticook’s
$1.44 million price tag was covered with help from several sources,
including an AHP grant of $311,102, a 30-year mortgage from Camden
Nation-al, loans from state housing agencies, and grants from both
Camden and the state of Maine.
Ms. Campbell also gives high marks to the Bank’s Equity Builder
Program (EBP), which is funded through the Bank’s AHP subsidy.
The EBP provides members with grants that are passed on directly
to low-income home buyers.
“It’s a terrific addition to the Bank’s program, a tremendous
opportunity to really touch people,” she says. Grants can be used for
down payments, closing costs, home-buyer counseling, or to rehabilitate property.
Camden National has given EBP grants to 16 of its customers, all low-income,
first-time home owners.
It may be impossible to predict where the economy is headed or how
much housing subsidy is like-ly to be forthcoming from the government
in coming years. What is more certain, in coastal Maine as elsewhere,
is that the need for affordable housing will never go away, she says. T
See a multimedia documentary on Megunticook
Estates in the Profiles section of our web site. |
