Stepping Stone Housing Inc. recently purchased a single-family home at 443 Waldoboro Road in Bremen. (Maia Zewert photo)
In the same month it received approval for its Damariscotta housing development, Stepping Stone Housing Inc. purchased a house on Waldoboro Road (Route 32) in Bremen. The nonprofit now owns four properties in Lincoln County for the purpose of providing transitional housing to individuals and families in need.
The nonprofit learned of the property when a member of Damariscotta Baptist Church offered to put a down payment on the house to help a local family find a place to live, according to the church’s pastor and Stepping Stone Housing Inc. Executive Director Marilee Harris.
The family found another home, but Stepping Stone kept its interest in the property. The nonprofit purchased the property for $42,000 from a family trust.
Located at 443 Waldoboro Road, the 2-acre property includes a three-bedroom house and a separate garage.
The home requires some “cosmetic work” before a family can move in, including remodeling the kitchen and some painting, Harris said. Weather dependent, the work could be completed by mid-April.
If the right situation arises, the nonprofit could sign a “lease to buy” agreement with the future tenant, Harris said.
“It definitely is a possibility,” Harris said. “Our hope is to always help people get to where they want to be. We’re not landlords; we’re assisting people to help them reach their goals.”
“Depending on the situation, an agreement could be possible,” Harris said.
Stepping Stone will pay taxes on the property, as it does on all of the property it owns, Harris said.
On March 6, the Damariscotta Planning Board approved a proposal from Stepping Stone to build five one-story, two-bedroom units of no larger than 720 square feet each on its property at the corner of Hodgdon and Pleasant streets. The new buildings will replace the structures currently on the property, which the nonprofit will remove as it builds the new ones.
Harris is currently meeting with contractors about the project, she said.
Two people live on a 4.96-acre property the nonprofit owns at 1393 Bristol Road in Bristol, just south of the village of Bristol Mills.
In November, the nonprofit purchased a 1.8-acre property on Biscay Road in Damariscotta. The property includes a commercial space leased to Custom Fitness Personal Training, a 1,254-square-foot-home, and a six-bay garage.
A “property analyst” is in the process of reviewing the property to see how the nonprofit can best utilize the space, Harris said. A plan could be ready as soon as next month.
