Two proposals, which are expected to bring more than 400 new housing units to Augusta, have been awarded tax breaks worth up to $14.3 million.

Officials said the two projects will help address the ongoing housing shortage in the city by providing new market-rate apartment housing options.

The larger of the two proposals would bring 260 housing units to undeveloped land near the intersection of Eight Rod and Old Belgrade roads, and be built by Massachusetts-based John Flatley Company. Officials call the proposed multi-building development Calumet Apartments, as some of the 155 acres of land acquired for it was previously owned by the Calumet Club.

Keith Luke, the city’s economic development director, said that project is expected to cost the developer $73 million to build.

City councilors, Oct. 16, unanimously approved a tax increment financing tax break that would return 75% of new value generated by the project back to the developer over the 30 years of the TIF, capped at a maximum of $10 million in tax revenues going back to the developer to help offset the cost of development.

The remaining 25% of new property tax revenues expected to be generated by the project would be spent by the city on public infrastructure improvements in the nearby Sand Hill neighborhood. That includes sidewalk and lighting connections to Northern Avenue and intersection upgrades at intersections of Northern Avenue, Old Belgrade Road and Townsend Road, Luke said.

The smaller project, 144 housing units at 443 Civic Center Drive, is also substantial. That developer, A.R. Building, a Pittsburgh-based developer, was also granted a similar, 30-year TIF that would return 75% of new value it generates back to the developer. The deal is capped at a $4.3 million maximum return of tax revenues to the developer.

Luke said the city’s 25% share of new tax revenues from that project, which would be on just under 18 acres, would be used to help fund the city’s economic development efforts.

“This project, and others like it, are in furtherance of City Council policy and priorities in terms of developing any and all range of housing we can in our community,” Mayor Mark O’Brien said. “We’re excited this project, and others, will really move the needle and help meet the growing need for a variety of housing opportunities here in Augusta.”

Neither development is deemed an affordable housing project.

Luke said the caps on each will help the developers get financing for projects which, due to assessment rules, are expected to initially be assessed for tax purposes for far less than they will cost to build. At the same time, Luke said the cap protects the city from the risk of providing a windfall to a developer if the project exceeds initial revenue projections.

City officials first started using a tax break for the proposed Capitol Heights Center at the former Kmart plaza.

“Like the Capitol Heights project, this structure balances a developer incentive program with long term benefit to the community,” Luke said of the Calumet Apartments. “The project will deliver 260 new housing units, generating over 170,000 labor hours in construction and strengthening the city’s housing inventory, especially for workforce households and young professionals. It advances the city’s goals of expanding housing options, growing the tax base, and investing in neighborhood infrastructure improvements.”

Jason Kambitsis, president of AR Development Company, said they anticipate starting the Civic Center Drive project in the second quarter of 2026, and it should take between 36 and 48 months to complete.

Owen Flynn, representing the Flatley Company, said that firm’s project will likely start in the spring.