House lawmakers have advanced along nearly partisan lines a bill supporting the conversion of vacant school buildings into residential housing.
Sponsored by Rep. Traci Gere (D-Kennebunkport), LD 2164 posits allocating $5 million in the 2026-27 fiscal year to the proposed Maine School Conversion Fund, portions of which would be used for a variety of expenses associated with transforming empty school buildings into usable housing.
Termed the Vacant School Housing Conversion Program, the proposed initiative would be established within the Maine Redevelopment Land Bank Authority and be authorized to provide “technical and financial assistance” to municipalities that choose to undertake such conversion projects.
In order to be eligible to participate in this program, a percentage of the units in the redeveloped property would need to be reserved for affordable housing.
[RELATED: Bill Supporting Conversion of Vacant School Building Into Residential Housing Introduced in Augusta]
The exact share is not specified in the proposed law, instead leaving that detail to the memorandum of understanding between the authority and the municipality.
Interested municipalities would need to enter into a “memorandum of understanding” with the Maine Redevelopment Land Bank Authority as a condition of their participation in the program.
By working with the authority, municipalities would be able to get help with determining the legal and financial feasibility of property conversion, navigating zoning and regulatory requirements, and identifying financing strategies to develop the property, among other things.
The Maine School Conversion Fund, with its starting appropriation of $5 million, would only be able to be tapped by the authority when it is serving as the administrator of requests for proposals on behalf of a participating municipality.
Included in the proposed legislation is a non-exhaustive list of the potential ways these funds could be spent, such as on design and engineering studies, property improvements, and hazardous material removal, among other things.
In a roll call vote of 79-65, the House advanced the Housing and Economic Development Committee’s majority Ought to Pass as Amended report.
While all Democrats voted in support of the measure, most Republicans voted in opposition. The measure will now be sent to the Senate for further approval.
