Wednesday, July 19, 2017

GILMAN PLACE - Waterville, Maine

Gilman Place is a housing project in Waterville Maine, created from a converted school building.  As you can see in the photo, there is a playground on the property.  The location is not far from the Waterville High School, as well as Main Street with its many shops.  I also believe this project is serviced by the public transportation buses as well, which cover most of the city, and make runs to the city of Augusta.  You are within walking distance to stores, Burger King and Dunkin Donuts.

Gilman Place - Waterville, Maine

Many of the units, if not all, are based on income, and rent is based on 30% of your income.  Usually projects like this one have heat included in the rent, but you would have to inquire on that.
The project offers 35 apartments - 15 one bedroom apartments, 13 two bedroom apartments and seven three bedroom apartments, 13 of which are fully handicapped accessible.   The fire and police stations are located not far away.  This project opened in 2011, so it is a fairly new project.  The project is located at  21 Gilman Street Waterville, ME.
Gilman Place - inside hallway, Waterville, Maine



  • 35 Units - 15 one bedroom, 13 two bedroom, and 7 three bedroom units
  • Elevator Building
  • Kennebec County income limits apply
  • Laundry Facilities On-Site
  • Includes Heat & Hot Water
  • Resident Service Coordinator Available
  • Community Room Available for Use
  • Free Wireless Internet
  • Convenient to Downtown
  • This property is recognized as preservation of an historic building
  • Pets Allowed
C&C Realty Management
526 Western Avenue
P O Box 2506
Augusta, ME 04338-2506
 Phone: 207.621.7700
Toll Free: 1.866.621.7705
TTY Relay: 711
Fax: 207.621.7702


GILMAN PLACE WEBSITE
Gilman Street, Waterville, Maine

ORCHARD HILL APARTMENTS - AUGUSTA, MAINE

Orchard Hill Apartments is located on a hill overlooking a nearby shopping center in Augusta, Maine.  A large grocery store is located in the mall, as well as a Burger King, a children's toy and book store, a car repair business and other shops.  A road leads up the hill to the project and there is an American Legion building with a tank in front of it as you turn onto the road to the project.
The project is a fairly nice looking project and I have been told there is a decent amount of storage space with each unit. 


Orchard Hill Apartments, Augusta, Maine

The project has two, three, and four bedroom apartments, and as far as I know this is the only project offering four bedroom units - but the waiting list is much longer for those apartments.  The waiting list is somewhat shorter for a three bedroom.  The project sets on a hillside surrounded by woods so it has a nice country feel, and there is a large playground there for the little ones.
Each apartment has washer and dryer hookups if you chose to supply your own washer and dryer, and the project has a common Laundry room with coin operated machines.
An elementary school is also not far from the project as well as the Augusta Airport which sets on another hill across from the project.  The two major roads closest to the project are Capital Street, which runs past the entrance to the project, and Western Ave. which runs past the shopping center.  I have heard that the public transportation buses run by the project, I am not sure if they actually enter the project.  The Augusta public buses run throughout the day and evening covering pretty much of the city.
Just down from the project at the far end of Capital Street, a fairly easy walk, is the Blaine House where the governor stays, the Capital building, State Offices, the Maine State Museum, the Maine State Library and the Maine State Archives with its free research rooms for looking up family history.  The large Capital Park is also across from the Capital building, as is the Augusta Police Station.
The project has a total of 36 apartment units, with parking lots offering plenty of parking space.  I do not know the layout of the apartments or if they have wall to wall carpets.  How the units are heated is something you may want to inquire about, many projects in Maine have begun to switch from electric heat to heat pumps, which heat the apartments in winter time and act as an air conditioner in summer time.  These units cut the cost of heating an apartment in half.

An online site lists the apartments starting at $880.00, but keep in mind this is a low income project and for most people moving here, rent will be based on $30 of your income.  This project offers Section 8 assistance to families who need it.


Orchard Hill Apartments is a townhouse style apartment complex located in Augusta, Maine. Occupancy is open to all families. Subsidy is provided through the Project-Based Section 8 Program and rents are based upon 30% of the household adjusted gross income. Professional 24hr On Call Maintenance. In Unit Washer/Dryer Hookups.

Contact Information:
Orchard Hill Apartments
25 Ridge Road
Augusta, ME - 04330


managed by: Weston Associates Management Company, Inc.
contact phone number: (617) 266-0044

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

WESTMAN VILLAGE - Augusta, Maine

This project is listed as low income and is located on Littlefield Street, a dead end street built for the housing project.  It lists 30 apartments, with 21 of them being section 8 apartments.  From the project you are about a twenty minute walk from the State House, the Maine State Library and the Maine genealogy archives room, about a 30 minute walk to K Mart, Wendy's, the post office and dunkin donuts.  The project is surrounded by tree's and has a county feel for being located in the city.  The Hallowell town line is not far from the project and it is about a 20 minute walk to downtown Hallowell  - a town best known for its old book shops and antique shops.


Westman Village Apartments, Augusta, Maine

Years ago buses did not service the project, I don't know if that has changed.  Units are two bedrooms and they do limit the number of people living in each unit to four.  Living rooms are large, as is the Kitchens.  Front door opens into the living room, rear door is located in the kitchen.  Each apartment has a large storage shed behind the apartment, you have to place your own lock on it.  Lawns are mowed by the housing and parking lots and walkways are done by the housing.  Repairs, when needed, are done fairly quickly.  One thing you might find useful, these units are upstairs and downstairs, with two bedrooms and a large bathroom being on the second floor, no ground floor bathrooms.  Kitchen is large enough for a table and chairs.  The housing also has outside cloths lines in place, each set of cloths lines is shared by two units.
There is an on site coin operated laundry room located near the center of the project, and a large playground for children.  Years ago they had talked about placing a high fence around the project, I don't know if that was ever done.  Apartments were electric heat, you need to look into that because the last time we drove by the project they had large LP gas tanks next to the apartments which were not there when we lived there.  Walls are pretty well insulated so you don't notice hardly any sounds from the apartment next to you.

managed by: Barkan Management Company Inc
 Address: 3 Littlefield St, Augusta, Maine 04330
  http://section-8-housing.credio.com/l/4028/Westman-Village
 Call (617) 482-5500 for more information.




EDEN APARTMENTS - BAR HARBOR, MAINE

EDEN APARTMENTS

Eden Apartments is located in a country setting on the Woodbury Road in Bar Harbor, Maine - yet only a 15 minute walk from the center of town.  The housing project is made up of 6 duplexes, five of which are two bedroom apartments.  The sixth duplex is two story and each side has three bedrooms.  The waiting list for the three bedroom apartments are quite long..
Each apartment has a front and rear lawn which is mowed by the housing authority, as well as a fenced in rear play area for small kids, and each unit has its own long driveway.  There is a garbage dumpster on site by the housing authority  garage, with no fee for deposing garbage.
In recent years the entire kitchen's was torn out and rebuilt with brand new cupboards as well as brand new electric stoves and refrigerators.

Woodbury Road, Eden Apartments - driveways along left side of roadway


HEAT;
Units can be heated by two separate means, there is the baseboard electric heat, which some residents prefer, but can get expensive.  Each unit also has recently been fitted with air exchangers which heat each unit at half the cost of electric heat, and also serve as air conditioning in summer months.
PARKING;
Each unit has its own long driveway.  Driveways are plowed as needed by the housing authority, you do need to shovel your walkway.
MAIL:
Each apartment has its own mailbox, and mail delivery is anywhere from 2pm to 3;30 pm six days a week.
PLAYGROUND;
Yes, located at about the center of the project and easy to access.
SMOKING;
Smoking is not allowed in any of the apartments not on the outside grounds.
FLOWER GARDENS;
You can plant a small flower garden along the side of the apartment.
STORAGE AREA;
Each apartment has its own outside fenced in area, and each unit also has a large storage room inside each apartment.
WASHER/DRYER;
Each apartment comes with a coin operated heavy load washer and dryer.  It costs 75 cents to wash and 75 cents to dry, but it actually takes two sets of quarters to get the clothing completely dry, so drying is actually $1.50 - the housing authority comes in about every three months to collect quarters from the machines.
LAWN SPACE;
Each apartment has its own front and rear lawns, mowed by the housing authority.
CARPETS;
yes and no.  Recently the housing authority has begun tearing out carpets as people move out and replacing them with hardwood flooring.  So you may get wall to wall carpets, or hardwood flooring.
CLOSETS;
Each bedroom has a large closet, with the Master Bedroom having a large walk in closet.
TWO BEDROOM FLOOR LAYOUT;
Front door opens up into the living room.  Straight ahead is the door to the large storage room.  The living room area is large, and next to the storage area to the left is the kitchen, which is not a full room, in other words, you won't be setting up a table in it.  There is an opening in the wall in which to serve food through into the dinning room on the other side. So you enter the kitchen from the living room, halfway through there is a large cut out in the wall to serve food through, and you can finish walking through the kitchen, turn the corner and enter the dining room.  Or you can enter the dining room from a doorway in the living room - this is important because what many do who are in need of three bedrooms is to turn that large dining room into a third bedroom and serve their meals in the living room.
At the far end of the kitchen are the washer and dryer.
To the right of the front door is a large storage closet, than a short hallway to the bathroom.  Just past the bathroom is the two doorways to the two bedrooms, with the master bedroom on the right, and the kids bedroom on the left.  The master bedroom also has a doorway leading out into the fenced in area in the rear of the apartment.
Floor layout for three bedroom apartments;  As you enter the front door, you have a large coat closet on the right, folding doors straight ahead to the washer and dryer, and the dining area to the left.  Some use the dining area as a living room area, and some turn it into a forth bedroom.  From the dining area there is a hallway leading past a stairway, past the door to a large storage area, and into the living room area.  You can also enter the kitchen from the living room, as well as from the dining room.  The kitchen is large but not large enough for table or chairs.
A door in the living room leads out into the fenced in play area.
Up the staircase and you have a kids room straight ahead as well as one to the right.  A short hallway has a doorway to the bathroom with the master bedroom at the end of the hallway.  there is also a nice closet with shelves in the hallway as well.
the master bedroom has a large walk in closet.
In all units, only the Master bedroom has a lock, children's rooms have no locking doors. 

REPAIRS
Minor repairs get placed on a waiting list and can take some time before they get to them.  Major repairs, such as your stove no longer works or you have a leaking pipe, get fast tracked and quickly -

PETS
pets are now allowed, but there is a sliding scale depending what the pet is or the size of the pet.  They have a yearly added deposit for pets, as well as a monthly or yearly record keeping fee per pet.  the only free pet you can have is a goldfish or other tiny fish, in a glass bowl, that does not have a pump or filter. 

PROJECT SETTING;
Located in a country setting only minutes from downtown stores, the roadway is lined with tree's.  This is a small project where each duplex is well spaced from the next.  And despite a number of young kids living in it, this is a fairly quite project.
At one end of the Woodbury Road is Parsons Lobster Pond, which is located next door to the Kebo Valley Golf Course.  The free Island Explorer buses also pass by the end of the road and you can get off one or wave one down from there.
On the other end of the Woodbury Road is West Street Extention, go right and it leads down the hill to West Street and Cottage Street and the food store just around the corner.  Go left and you are about a five minute walk from one of the entrances into Acadia National Park.

A few basic questions answered on Bar Harbor;
YMCA - yes, Park Street
YWCA - yes, Mount Desert Street
ballfields - yes, across from YMCA
skate park - yes, across from YMCA
main food store - Hannaford's on Cottage Street
Gas stations - three, 2 on cottage, 1 on Main street
Library - yes, Jesup Memorial Library on Mount Desert Street;  has a children's room as well as a computer room with free wifi and computer access.
movie houses - yes, 2
Parks - yes, several
Post Office - yes, Cottage Street
Subway - yes
cabs - yes - from the project or  in town fare is $5
public transportation - yes.  Downeast Transportation operates a bus from Hannafords to the city of Ellsworth as well as the city of Bangor, Maine.  $5 to Ellsworth and $9 to Bangor, fare includes round trip.
There is also the free Island Explorer buses which take people to villages all across the island as well as places inside Acadia National Park for free.
COLLEGE - yes, the College of the Atlantic located a short ways away on Eden Street.
Elementary school - yes, a short ways from the project.  A school bus picks students up in the project.
HIGH SCHOOL - yes, but not within walking distance.  Buses pick up students and transport them to MDI high School.
HOSPITAL - yes, Mount Desert Island Hospital, which is not far from the center of town.
CHILDREN'S PUBLIC WADING POOL - yes
PUBLIC PLAYGROUND - yes, next to the YMCA
CONVENIENCE STORES - yes, 2  Both located on Cottage street.  Big Apple and the circle K - Mainway store, which is open 24 hours a day.
IN TOWN LAUNDRY MAT - yes

Left, washer/dryer, coat closet, front doorway - Eden Apartments, Bar Harbor Maine



RENT;
Rent is set up two ways, and which method you chose is up to you.  There is the basic flat rent, where you pay around $980.00 per month (you need to check this out, I know its $900.00 plus, it may be less or more than $980.00) and your income has no ceiling of how much you can earn, and than there's the rent based on   30% of your income.  So someone with a good paying job, you would want to chose the flat rate.  Some one with less income would want to select the  rent based on  30%.

DESPOSIT
I believe they like to have the deposit paid for up front, but they will allow you to make smaller monthly payments if you don't have the money and ask to make payments on it.

COMMUNITY SERVICE
It is required by law, so if you not disabled, you will have to work at least 20 hours per month, or do 8 hours of community service per month.  Most do their community service by doing nursing home visits, helping out at a local church, or volunteering at the local library or hospital.  Even helping out at the YMCA would count.

 Bar Harbor Housing authority
80 Mount Desert Street
Bar Harbor, Hancock County, Maine
(207) 288-4770
The MDIEHA handles five housing authorities:
1. Bar Harbor offers two communities dedicated to senior/disabled individuals, and one family community.
2. Southwest Harbor offers two communities dedicated to senior/disabled individuals.
3. Mount Desert offers one community dedicated to senior/disabled individuals.
4.Tremont offers one family community.
5. Ellsworth offers one community dedicated to senior/disabled individuals.

Eden Apartments, Bar Harbor Maine