Sanford’s Apartment Boom

Sanford is set to see a big expansion in the number of market-rate rental housing units in the next two years, with major building or renovation projects happening all over town. The first new units to be available will be at the Sanford Pointe community, being expanded by Scarborough Woods LLC with three new buildings on Patriot Lane in South Sanford. 40 apartments, ranging from one to three bedrooms, are being constructed.

Two of the buildings are being constructed with 12 units each of two or three bedrooms, each with a porch. The third building has 16 one or two bedroom units, each with a bay window instead of a porch. See the sample floor plans below. The first apartments will be available in January 2023 and the rest by July. Applications are being accepted now – call Andrew Orkin at 207-934-7622 for a showing.

Also in South Sanford, a new apartment building is going up behind McDonald’s near the roundabout. Austin Corner, being built by TPD Construction of Sanford, will include 16 two-bedroom and 8 one-bedroom units. Visit tpdpropertymanagers.com for a rental application.

In Springvale, the Planning Board recently granted preliminary approval to the redevelopment of the former Nasson dormitories off Summer St. Portland-based company GreenMars purchased the three buildings as well as some adjoining property, and will be remodeling them into 83 market-rate apartments. In addition to the Summer St. entrance, a new entrance will be constructed off King St. to divide the traffic flow.

The developers are sensitive to the history of the property and plan to keep the original names – Fobes Hall, Hanscom Hall and Pryor-Hussey Hall – as well as the midcentury modern look of the buildings. There is much to be done before final approval can be granted to the project, including approval of a contract zone to allow multifamily housing, but GreenMars is already at work cleaning up the property and stabilizing the buildings before major work begins.

At the Planning Board meeting, GreenMars’ principals Nate Green and Chris Marshall said they plan to providing public access through the 27-acre property to the Rail Trail behind it. Mary Hastings of the Sanford Regional Economic Growth Council said she is very enthusiastic about the project’s potential to be an economic driver for Springvale.

Closer to downtown, all eyes are focused on the long-vacant Stenton Trust building, which Boston-based WinnDevelopment plans to redevelop into 96 residential units. The preapplication process was completed over the summer. The company has extensive experience at rehabbing former mill buildings.

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