Anew Development partnered with Westbrook Housing in the development of Larrabee Commons; a 38-unit, low income, rental, senior housing development to be newly constructed on a vacant site in the vicinity of 10 Liza Harmon Drive in Westbrook, Maine. The project was later dedicated to former Westbrook Housing Board member Arthur O. Berry and renamed the Arthur O. Berry Apartments.
Larrabee Commons was developed on an approximately 2.36 Acre parcel of excess land formerly part of Larrabee Woods, an adjacent public housing property developed in the early 1980s. Larrabee Commons is a 32,000 square foot, four-storied building with an elevator and related site improvements. Each of the 38 apartments at Larrabee Commons is a one-bedroom unit of approximately 608 square feet. The project provides residents with ancillary spaces such as a community room, trash and recycling room, a manager’s office, and an on-site laundry room. Site improvements include a 38 space, landscaped parking area, a recreational open space, and storm water management infrastructure.
The 38 apartments at Larrabee Commons serve low-income seniors with quality affordable rental housing. 23 of the units are leased at rental rates affordable to seniors with annual household income at or below 50% of the area median income (AMI). 15 of the units are rented to households at or below 60% of AMI. Residents of Larrabee Commons further benefit from the efficiency and predictability of having heat, hot water, and electricity included in their monthly rents.
Larrabee Commons is perfectly suited for senior housing in that is located in a central, urban location within close proximity to a wide array of jobs, goods, services, and recreational opportunities. Moreover, the site is supported by such public services as water, sewer, natural gas, and public transportation.
The Larrabee Commons building itself has been designed to be a high-performance, high-quality urban building. The massing and architectural detailing of the building were designed to be highly context sensitive. Since it will form part of a larger campus of housing developments, Larrabee Commons has been designed to complement and enhance the overall campus by interconnecting walking paths and providing attractive landscaping and recreational open space.
Anew Development is proud to have formed a part of the Larrabee Commons development team which included Westbrook Development Corp., MaineHousing, the Northern New England Housing Investment Fund, Archetype Archtects, Zachau Construction, Gorham Savings Bank, and the law offices of Drummond Woodsum.
