In every community in Maine there are old buildings — maybe two, maybe three, maybe 20 — that catch your attention. You’ve probably walked passed these buildings and thought “what an eyesore, when are they going to tear that down?” But for tens of thousands of Mainers, that old building could be retrofitted, remodeled or rebuilt to be the affordable home they’ve been waiting years to find.

We have an affordable housing crisis in Maine: 35,000 renters pay more than half of their incomes toward housing costs; 2,500 federally subsidized homes in rural Maine are at risk of losing their affordability restrictions; and for every family living in an affordable unit, nearly three others are waiting for a home.

The need for more affordable housing in the state is clear, and yet we’re only producing about 250 new affordable units each year.