WATERVILLE — The Waterville Planning Board approved final plans Tuesday night for a three-story apartment building on King Street that is expected to provide 37 affordable units.

The Kennebec Valley Community Action Program plans to build the 49,500-square-foot building on 3.18 acres at 52 King St. It would have mostly one- and two-bedroom units and some with three bedrooms, all intended for low-income residents, according to the developer.

The plans call for demolishing two buildings, at 52 King St. and 24 Gold St.

The project would be located across King Street from the KVCAP parking lot, on land that many years ago was the site of the South End Arena, an ice skating rink. The rectangular-shaped building would have access from King and Gold streets.

The site plan for the project, developed by A.E. Hodsdon Consulting Engineers in Waterville, shows the project would encompass 52 and 54 King St. and 24 and 26 Gold St., and the building would be made of concrete, wood, steel and glass.

David Pelton, KVCAP’s director of real estate development, has said that once the Planning Board approves the project, KVCAP would need to apply for funding from various sources, such as MaineHousing, and then close on those funding sources, which would take until about March or April.

KVCAP also would buy the four properties, and it has written agreements in place to do that.

Current plans call for 83 parking spaces for the development off King and Gold streets. Jeff Allen, an engineer with A.E. Hodsdon, noted that some Planning Board members at a meeting earlier this month had asked that the number of parking spaces be reduced. Allen said Tuesday that while he and others looked at that proposal, they had not had time to reduce the number as part of the plan.

“We do intend to do that, but still, we’re showing you the same plan that we had two weeks ago,” Allen said.

Board member Hilary Koch said the law requires extra parking when affordable housing is involved. Koch added that she thinks low-income residents deserve as many parking spaces as anyone else.

Board Chairwoman Samantha Burdick, who at the meeting earlier this month had requested the number of parking spaces be reduced, said she does not like the idea of a massive parking lot in a residential neighborhood surrounded mostly by single-family houses. She said people at conferences she attends on housing and related matters suggest less parking with developments.

“Having high levels of parking is shown to really decrease the quality of life in the neighborhood,” Burdick said, “and it destroys neighborhoods.”

Reducing the parking lot from two spaces per housing unit to 1.5, as the Planning Board agreed earlier this month, would mean reducing the lot by about 18 spaces, according to Allen. He said most of the units are single-bedroom units and many of the residents would have only one car.

“By and large,” Allen said, “I think it will be one-bedroom units, so a lesser demand for vehicles.”

He said he is good with fewer parking spaces, and reducing the number of spaces will save money. KVCAP employees will use eight or nine spaces, he said.

Burdick asked about plans for grassy space for the residents. Allen said the end of an area behind the building could be considered for such a use.

Pelton said that when he and others met with the South End Neighborhood Association, members of that organization said they thought the South End had enough playgrounds.

“Something more like a community garden was talked about, or something like that,” Pelton said.

A cost for the housing project has yet to be finalized. Pelton estimated after the meeting the final cost would be at least $12 million.

The apartment rental costs for the King Street project are to be set by MaineHousing, according to Pelton.

He and Allen said the site plan for the project might be tweaked and the building’s proposed location moved slightly, after which Pelton and Allen would come back to the Planning Board for review.

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