A construction project seeking to bring 18 new housing units to middle-income workers is beginning in Rangeley.

Bayberry Circle will consist of six duplex units, with the spaces being rented to full-time residents of Rangeley. Matthew Teare, the developer of the project, said there will be specific guidelines renters will need to meet to lease an apartment.

“​To be eligible for this program, you need to not make more than 80% of the area median income,” Teare said. “And what that equates to is that you can’t make more than as an individual, about $50,000 a year, and as a family, about $70,000 a year.”

The development will have 12 one-bedroom, three two-bedroom and three three-bedroom units available. Pricing will range from $1,300 a month for a one-bedroom apartment to $1,800 a month for a three-bedroom.

Construction will start this spring, carried out by M&H Construction; the land is being cleared. The modular homes will arrive in late summer and will be set up in the fall. Teare expects the units to be completed and ready for occupancy by the end of fall.

The duplexes will be built on a setback plot on Cross Street between Loon Lake Road and Allen Street. Teare said he has been working with the town since 2024 to get the project started. He and his business partner, John Wasileski, received a 26-year credit enhancement agreement in July 2024 from the town of Rangeley, which contributed $310,181 to the project.

Teare said the project was made possible because of a TIF district created in Rangeley, which will invest 50% of taxes raised from the site back into the project.

“The tax revenue from a TIF project are shielded from state and county sharing requirements (most towns lose 50 cents on the dollar),” Teare said in an email. “The town investment in the project costs the town little or nothing. That is the beauty of a TIF.”

Along with support from the town, funding for the project came from a $50 million grant through the Maine State Housing Authority intended to bring more affordable housing units to workers and their families across the state.

The housing is meant to help ease the difficulty that many full-time residents have in finding stable housing in an area where short-term rentals rule.

“Bayberry Circle is exactly the kind of project our region has needed for some time,” said Ally Kaiser, executive director of the Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce, in an email. “As housing costs have risen and competition from seasonal rentals has grown, many of our local workers and families have been priced out of the community they serve.

“This development is a meaningful step toward closing that gap, and I look forward to learning more and watching the project take shape over the coming months,” she added.

Similar housing projects are being planned across the state. The state has a goal to build 84,000 new homes by 2030.

As for future developments, Teare said he would like to start more projects, but he can’t say for certain.

“You look at it one project at a time,” he said.