Norway Community Housing
Norway Community Housing, formerly known as Norway Equitable Housing Cooperative, is a proposed 17-unit affordable and climate-friendly housing development at 33-35 Whitman Street in Norway. The project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of climate-forward affordable housing with cooperative and community values at the center.
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In May 2023, we completed Phase One of our project when we officially purchased 33 and 35 Whitman Street in Norway.
At the end of 2023, we raised $53,549 toward Phase Two, asbestos abatement and demolition of existing structures, which was necessary before we could be eligible for pre-development funding. Asbestos abatement was completed in December, and the buildings were demolished in January 2024. While it was bittersweet to see them go, they'd fallen into disrepair years before we purchased the property and were not salvageable. The metal roofing was sorted for recycling, and most of the rest was burned to generate electricity.
Phase Three: We spent much of 2024 solidifying our architectural and engineering plans to be “shovel ready” to apply for Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program (RARHP) funding from the state of Maine. We also received the necessary approval from the town's Planning Board for our RARHP application.
Phase Four: In January 2025, we submitted our application to the Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program, but our first application was not funded. We’re excited to share that, with the support of partner organizations, the project will seek support from a new round of RARHP funding in September 2026. We're relying on support from the Genesis Community Loan Fund to continue this project, as well as support from individuals and foundations to fund the staff time. If you'd like to support Phase Four, please donate here!
To use our land to support our community, we began growing potatoes for local food pantries in the summer of 2025, and have planted squash in 2026. We tested the soil to make sure it was safe for growing, and appreciated partnering with youth from Alan Day Community Garden to help clear our plot.
Phase Five: Construction!
Phase Six: Living energy efficiently and affordably!
Background before Phase One: We began this project in 2021 when we were approached by local renters who lifted up our community's need for affordable, safe, energy-efficient housing. A team of CEBE staff, board members, and potential residents/owners began developing project plans with technical assistance from many sources. Over the last five years, we met regularly around the shared need and vision for equitable and energy-efficient housing. We knew that finding funding and following this project to completion would be a long road, and that if our first efforts didn’t succeed, we’d continue to work to meet the needs expressed by our community.
We welcome your support of our ongoing effort to add up to 17 new affordable, resident-owned, energy efficient housing units to our historic downtown, in support of workers and area businesses.
While developing our initial project plans, we learned extensively about cooperative housing models, and had many opportunities to share our knowledge with others. We advocated at the state level for resident-led housing cooperatives; we were included in panels and workshops across western Maine about community and housing co-ops; and we were profiled in local magazines.
Since purchasing the property, our new neighbors have generously shared stories of the history of the 35 Whitman Street plot and of Ashley Everett, who lived there for about 90 years. We’ve heard about a horse-drawn cart-building shop from the 1800s, the old rumors of moonshine distilleries, and the “Chicken Man” himself with hound dogs, beautiful gardens, and community rhubarb patch. We’ve heard from most everyone that he was a character, a “dying breed” of Maine outdoorsmen, with a cold sense of humor, and unwavering support for his neighbors. Ashley went out of his way to help each of them, giving folks rides to work in snowstorms, trapping pesky skunks, and sharing his birthday cakes with the daycare that used to sit next door.
The support our new neighbors offer us now is proof that some part of his dying breed lives on, and they are Ashley’s legacy in action. They have shared ideas for fundraising, kept an eye on the property for us, volunteered their kids and scout troops to help clean and demo, and even gone so far as to make sure the neighborhood kids who were about to throw rocks at the windows knew that the place was haunted and ran off, and misdirect folks from out of state who inquired about buying the lot before us.
We are inspired and re-ignited to continue blazing this trail, knowing that our neighbors share our concerns about the lack of housing in our area and are here to help. The stories and the support they have shared exemplify our values of concern for community and make us proud to make this neighborhood our future home.
