A year and a couple of weeks. That's how long it took to go from groundbreaking to ribbon cutting at Sunridge Senior Housing in Bangor, and the people who own it say the job came in on time and on budget.
BangorHousing celebrated the opening of the 50-unit affordable building on Sunset Avenue on Wednesday, Oct. 7. According to WABI, the ribbon cutting came about a year and two weeks after the groundbreaking, and BangorHousing's CEO described the project as completed on time and on budget. People are already living there. WABI talked with one resident, Tim, who said he enjoys the activities and walking areas, as well as the stairs and elevator. About 10 apartments were still available at the ceremony.
"Today we celebrate a beautiful new building, but more importantly, we celebrate the people who will live here," said Cindy Witas, BangorHousing's development director. "Fifty people will have a safe, affordable and comfortable place to call home. That's why all of this matters."
What got built
According to MaineHousing's October board report, Sunridge sits at 140 Sunset Ave. and is a single three-story building with 44 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom apartments for residents 55 and older. Every apartment is set aside for households at or below 60% of the area median income. Twelve units are accessible, including one equipped for residents who are hearing or visually impaired, and the building has a community room, laundry, a garden and broadband for telehealth.
When WABI toured the building in June, it called Sunridge a $16 million project and listed an elevator, air conditioning, community space, on-site laundry and parking. BangorHousing CEO Mike Myatt said it was the authority's first project to include dishwashers. Units also have walk-in showers and grab bars.
"We have a walk-in shower, which is really nice in terms of accessibility," Myatt said then. "Grab bars, all that stuff make a difference for someone who gets older."
Rents are posted on BangorHousing's Sunridge page: $1,163 a month for a one-bedroom and $1,395 for a two-bedroom. FOX Bangor reported that all utilities are paid. BangorHousing lists income limits of $43,440 a year for a one-bedroom and $49,620 for a two-bedroom, with minimum incomes of $2,326 and $2,790 a month.
Who built it and how it was financed
The developer is Bangor Housing Development Corporation, according to MaineHousing, which lists Sunridge as a 2023 project financed with 4% low-income housing tax credits, with Evernorth as the investor.
The opening coverage didn't name a builder, but Portland-based Wright-Ryan Construction posted last fall that its team was "hard at work bringing Sunridge Senior Housing to life," working with BangorHousing and TAC Architectural Group. The company said the job was part of growing its own footprint in the Bangor area.
Myatt has argued that a building like this does more than house 50 people. "If we can move somebody out of a single-family home that they've lived in for a long time into here, that single-family home opens up for a brand new family just starting out in Bangor," he told WABI in June. "And then the rental that that young couple was in opens up for someone brand new. So it's a three-for-one the way we look at it."
He also said a recent study showed Bangor needs hundreds more affordable housing units, and FOX Bangor reported that BangorHousing's chief executive said senior housing wait lists are measured in years.
Bangor isn't stopping here. MaineHousing's pipeline lists Penquis's 40-unit Milford Place senior project in Bangor as under construction and likely done this year, and BangorHousing is among the partners in the state's Home for Good supportive housing program.
Why it matters for Contractors
Sunridge is the kind of job that builds a contractor's reputation: a three-story, 50-unit elevator building delivered in about a year, on time and on budget by the owner's account. Those are the projects housing authorities remember when the next one comes up. For subs, the mix of features is a good reminder of what affordable senior housing now expects: elevators, air conditioning, dishwashers, walk-in showers, grab bars, accessible and sensory-equipped units, and telehealth-ready broadband. That's work for elevator installers, HVAC and plumbing subs, low-voltage crews and finish carpenters. And with Wright-Ryan saying it's expanding in the Bangor area and more senior housing in the pipeline, northern Maine trades should get to know the construction managers moving into the market.