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FARMINGTON

Homes to get upgrades

By Leslie Bridgers lbridgers@pressherald.com
Staff Writer

FARMINGTON -- Nearly 20 mobile homes on High Street will get energy-efficiency upgrades during the next 18 months, making them more affordable for the low-income families who rent them.

Keith Swett, who manages the housing development at 82 High St., said the goal is to double the efficiency of the homes, which would cut heating bills in half.

"It's going to save these people, who don't have much money, a lot of money," said Swett.

The project is being funded by a $250,000 Community Development Block Grant, as well as about $100,000 from the Department of Energy. The renovations are slated to begin next month and should be complete by the end of 2011.

The upgrades will cost about $20,000 for each of the mobile homes, according to Farmington Code Enforcement Officer Steve Kaiser.

Kaiser said the homes are about 20 years old and would cost about $70,000 to replace. With the renovations, he said, they should last another 20 or more years.

One of the 18 homes in the development had been overrun by feral cats and needed to be replaced entirely, according to Bill Crandall of Western Maine Community Action, which is overseeing the project. A few weeks ago, Maine Housing Authority replaced it with a new Energy Star mobile home that will serve as a model for the renovation of the other 17 homes.

Nick Newell, who currently lives in an apartment that's also part of the housing development, will move with his wife and their three children into the model home next month.

"I'm anxious for winter," Newell said Friday. "I want to see if it can live up to its reputation."

Meanwhile, the renovations will begin on the first of the 17 mobile homes. The work will include replacing windows, doors, hot water tanks and insulation. Crandall said he's trying to rally volunteers to do some cosmetic work, too, such as painting the homes.

In the future, Kaiser said, he'd like to see the 13 apartments in the development upgraded as well, or replaced entirely, but that project wouldn't happen for at least another couple of years.

The apartments are in an old farmhouse and adjacent barn, which might not be worth the money it would take to make efficiency improvements. The mobile homes, on the other hand, have sound structures that could hold up for several decades, he said, but the renovations are necessary for keeping them affordable to operate.

"The government's getting a good deal," Kaiser said.

Leslie Bridgers -- 861-9252

lbridgers@centralmaine.com