They want to build a 500-unit apartment complex in Bangor

Two Bangor-based developers are proposing to bring an apartment complex with 500 units to Stillwater Avenue.

Justin and Nicole Freeman are drafting plans for an apartment complex with nine or 10 two-story buildings, each with between 40 and 60 units, and an office and laundromat on site for residents. The complex would offer mostly one-bedroom apartments with some two-bedroom units available.

First-floor units could serve older adults who don’t want to navigate stairs while the second floor could house young professionals, Justin Freeman said.

“The buildings will be sizable,” Justin Freeman said. “We’re talking 300 feet long and 50 feet wide.”

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If approved, the development would sit off Stillwater Avenue between Chase Road and Longview Drive, adjacent to BJ’s and Target. The couple are planning to name it LuBen Village, after their children, Justin Freeman said.

While the development is still in its early planning stages, it’s notable because of the sheer size of the project. If built, LuBen Village would be the largest apartment complex in Bangor and comes at a time when the region is desperate for more housing.

The family aims to keep rent at roughly $1,100 per month, with heat and hot water included. This would serve people who can’t afford the higher-end housing being built in Bangor, but make too much money to qualify for most housing subsidies.

“It brings the cost to a more reasonable level for the population we have here in Bangor,” Justin Freeman said, “If we bring something more moderate, it opens possibilities for more people. And they’re able to get a brand new unit instead of something built in 1882 that needs to be updated.”

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Anne Krieg, Bangor’s economic development director, has previously referred to households in that income demographic as “the missing middle.” The bracket generally covers people who make 80 to 120 percent of the area median income, which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sets annually.

A one-person household in Bangor making $48,250 to $72,375 per year would qualify, according to HUD.

While 500 units may seem like an excessive amount of housing at one site, Justin Freeman said the high number is necessary to keep rent prices low for tenants while allowing him to afford the project, as it will likely cost $35 million to $40 million to build.

“The only reason this works is because of quantity,” he said. “When you build just eight or 12 or 24 units, you have to charge $2,400 per month to cover the mortgage payments, property taxes and utility costs. But there’s only a certain amount of the population that can afford that.”

The buildings will be constructed one at a time to allow people to move in as each is finished.

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Justin Freeman’s goal is to pour concrete on the first building in spring 2025 so people can move into the first building that fall. But, he recognized there are several steps that need to be accomplished before that can happen.

The Freemans are drafting a proposed site plan in partnership with Haley Ward and aim to bring it to the Bangor Planning Board for approval this fall.

“We’re pushing the contractors and engineers to get this approved as quickly as possible because, frankly, it’s needed right now,” he said. “It’s no secret that Bangor needs housing.”