Brown's Mill Historic Rehab Opportunity

Dover Foxcroft is approximately 42 miles north of Newport on Route 7 where I-95 crosses through the region. It is on the preferred route to Greenville and the Moosehead Lake Region from both Portland/Augusta and Waterville to the south and Bangor to the northeast. Dover Foxcroft is the home of the Foxcroft Academy which is both a regional high school and a private academy. (Approximately 325 public students and 75 private students) The Town has recently been the recipient of public and private grants allowing for the construction of both a two acre indoor sports arena and and a separate state-of-the-art indoor hockey rink. These facilities are unparalleled in the state of Maine for pre-college sports Dover Foxcroft is a sub regional center with a local hospital Part of three Northern Light Health systems, a shopping center, including a Hannaford's grocery store, fast food outlets, and numerous other retail outlets and services. There is a community center with an indoor swimming pool.This is a uniquely sited and scenic historic mill building. Of its 5 floors, the top 4 floors are likely best suited for "affordable housing" assisted by federal LIHTC tax credits. The lower floor would be suited for community space or storage space. The building has received most of the approvals needed for eligibility for federal and State historic tax credits. In order to make the project feasible, the Town has indicated an interest in providing Tax Increment Financing ( a TIF) to reimburse annual property taxes by 75% to 90%. Moreover, there appears to be eligibility for a greatly reduced electric rate due to the co-location of as functioning hydro-power generator in part of the lower level. (The major portion of the dam facility is on the adjacent property.) The main structure is remarkably well maintained. The rubber roof is about 15 years old and in excellent condition. All of the re-use area on 5 floors have been sandblasted. The windows and doors are intact. There is a functioning dry sprinkler system. A re-use study was conducted by Archetype Architects in Portland, which has great experience with mill structures and residential rehabilitation. The result of their spatial analysis, condition assessment is available. (See attached pdf floor plans) A Phase One environmental assessment has been completed and Phase Two is underway. Initial discussions with state regulators indicates that the there is no problem with shoreline zoning except that the first floor might be restricted from residential use.