New apartments slated for tribe’s young adults

Bangor Daily News

INDIAN ISLAND - Construction hasn't even started, and already there is a waiting list of nearly a dozen people wanting to live in the new apartment building that soon will be built on Indian Island.

The eight-unit apartment building will be geared toward young adult tribal members who are ready to live on their own but don't want to leave the island.

"Up to this point we've always had to prioritize the elders or folks that were really disadvantaged, and this is the first time we've been able to focus on the younger generation," Penobscot Nation Housing Director Craig Sanborn said Friday.

The most exciting part for Sanborn is that young adults who once had to leave Indian Island when they were ready to live on their own now won't have to.

"We haven't even kicked the dirt yet and we already have a waiting list of about 11," Sanborn said.

He said the United States Department of Agriculture already has guaranteed the approximately $1 million it will cost to construct the building, and now he's just waiting for some of the closing documents to be signed.

Primary funding for the project is coming from the USDA, with some assistance from Bangor Savings Bank.

The two-story building with four units on each level will be located on a strip of land near Olamon Street. There will be six one-bedroom apartments and two two-bedroom units.

Architectural design work already has been completed by Architects-Engineers of Bangor, and Sanborn said he hopes to be able to advertise for construction bids early this month.

"The vision was for young adults," Sanborn said. "The good thing about that is they don't have to leave the island now in order to find some housing."