CARRABASSETT VALLEY – In the monthly newsletter from Western Maine Mountain Housing, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding workforce housing solutions along the Route 27 corridor from Kingfield to Eustis, WMMH announced that their next prospective workforce housing development will be in partnership with Sugarloaf.
Sugarloaf management and WMMH have worked together to identify a parcel of land that meets the community’s needs for housing as well as expansion of Sugarloaf’s snowmaking operations.
Sugarloaf General Manager Karl Strand released the following statement:
“Sugarloaf is committed to working with the Western Maine Mountain Housing Workforce Coalition. As the study confirms, 36% of our regional workforce commutes more than 25 miles to work in the area. As such, Sugarloaf is amongst a host of regional employers who are working to identify future opportunities in support of solving the year-round housing shortage in our area.
“A big step in this process has been partnering with the Coalition as we collectively pursue next steps in the DEP application process (Department of Environmental Protection) after surveying a potential parcel of land here at Sugarloaf. The parcel would support a combination of multi-unit buildings appropriate for families and individuals. Tee Herbert Grand Hotel will continue to be used to support seasonal Sugarloaf employees.
“We look forward to working through this process as we work towards solving the common goal of workforce housing in the Western Maine region.”
WMMH’s Executive Director Mark Green said, “WMMH is excited about working with Sugarloaf on our next workforce housing project and appreciate their willingness to make a parcel of land on the Sugarloaf property available for this use.”
WMMH has been working on a project in Kingfield, which will go to a special town meeting for a vote to see if the voters of Kingfield will accept the contract zoning for the project. That vote will be held on January 23, 2024, by a ballot referendum. Absentee ballots are expected to be available in late December. WMMH has announced two public meetings, on December 14 and January 18, to discuss the project before the special town meeting vote.
