Next week, Falmouth town councilors will vote on a proposal for workforce housing development on a town-owned site near the police department. As a business owner, a major local employer, and someone passionately committed to economic and environmental sustainability, I can’t stress how important it is that the town moves forward with this project. John Wasileski is the developer and owner of OceanView at Falmouth, Cumberland Crossing at OceanView and Highland Green in Topsham.
Community leaders have been talking about the need for housing that workers can afford since I first started doing business in Falmouth more than 40 years ago. The need was flagged as a major problem in the 2000 and 2013 Comprehensive Plans, and yet again during Falmouth’s recent “Vision and Values” initiative. Over the years, proposals from developers never came to fruition.
Today, the median home price in Falmouth is now $804,500, according to data from the town. In order to afford a house at that price, you’d need an income of nearly $255,000 – that’s more than three times the median household income for the state. Here at OceanView at Falmouth, we are feeling the impact of the shortage in a major way.
We employ more than 200 people across our nursing, dining, maintenance, housekeeping, transportation, administration and other departments. A typical commute for one of our employees is anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes, and they come from as far as Kennebec County. Many who can’t make lo.