Real Estate: North Windham sewers will benefit environment, commercial development

By Larry Eliason

The prospect of a public sewer coming to North Windham in the next few years is a welcomed initiative. North Windham is poised for well-managed and directed growth and a public sewer system will complement all the plans that have been made such as the Comprehensive Plan and the 21st Century Downtown Plan for North Windham. 

The addition of public sewer infrastructure in North Windham will certainly help protect Sebago Lake, other lakes and ponds, rivers and streams and the aquifers all around us in Windham.   Frankly, I think this is the absolute right time to approve a public sewer system and then take all the necessary steps to make it a reality over the next three to five years via the partnership the town has with the Portland Water District and obtaining federal funding to assist with the cost of this infrastructure.

North Windham is well recognized as a retail and service center for the Sebago Lakes Region.  We have a good base of local businesses, but we do not have nearly enough manufacturers that provide really good paying jobs and that pay a good portion of commercial real estate taxes to help with the balance of residential base and the commercial tax base.  

I believe that sewer infrastructure will help attract more companies that need higher per gallon sewerage capacity.  These companies will offer good paying jobs and pay their fair share of commercial real estate taxes.

Companies looking at Windham will also be looking at housing for their employees.  There are quite a few apartment and condo projects in the pipeline for North Windham that will hopefully take some pressure off the current demand. 

However, Windham currently has a Growth Ordinance specifically for single family homes.  Unfortunately, the Growth Ordinance has, in my opinion, contributed to Windham having a housing shortage.  The median price point for a home in Windham is currently $ 450,000 to $475,000 price range. 

If you limit building permits like Windham does, builders are going to build houses with a higher price and better profit margin as another permit for a second or third house package may not be available.

My point being that as soon as Windham residents pass the sewer initiative, we as a community should immediately ask our Town Leaders to rescind the growth ordinance and get single family housing options back that are more affordable for Windham residents.  I think a price point of $300,000 to $350,000 is a lot more palatable.   

This goal may require some zoning, density and minimum lot size changes. In Windham, like a lot of other towns, residential home building permits and all the related fees that go with a new home help pay the bills.

Adding sewer infrastructure is a high priority and an instrumental piece of the puzzle to again attract and also retain companies that offer good paying jobs and pay their fair share in commercial real estate and personal property taxes.

Windham like most other towns has lots of challenges ahead such as managing traffic flows, but Windham also has a bright future with well thought out plans in place.

I encourage all Windham residents to get out and vote on June 14.  I also encourage all Windham Business Owners and Residents to engage their Town Councilors on topics like the Growth Ordinance.

Larry Eliason is a Commercial Broker with Butts Commercial Brokers and is President of Windham Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).