New ‘green’ building set to open in Houlton

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
MARKET SQUARE COMMONS — Solar panels on the roof of the new 28-unit apartment building in downtown Houlton are among the many energy-saving features that also include wood pellet boilers.
Affordable apartments include utilities, heat
By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Market Square Commons, the new 28-unit energy-efficient apartment building in downtown Houlton, is taking applications for “affordable market-rate units.”
    Rent for the one- and two-bedroom units includes all utilities, according to Charlene Henderson, site manager, who added that “the only other [apartment related] expenses are the tenant’s telephone and cable bill.” Trash and garbage disposal are also included in the rent.
    Now that some local residents have gone in to see the units, they are “very pleased with the apartments  and like them because everything is all brand new,” said Henderson.
    Several of the apartments are specifically designed for people who are visually impaired or physically handicapped. For example, access to the kitchen appliances and sink accommodate a person in a wheelchair. The same is true for the shower with its drop-down seat. There are no apartments with a bathtub. And, even the front door peephole is lowered to wheelchair height.   
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
RIVER VIEW — Charlene Henderson, site manager for Market Square Commons, stands at a window in  top-floor apartment with views of the Gateway Bridge and Meduxnekeag River.
    The locked, elevator-equipped building has three common areas: a conference/meeting room, a library and a media room. Those rooms, each on separate floors, are equipped with motion activated lights as part of the energy-saving overall design of the building.
    “Beautiful and brand new from the ground up,” is how Deborah Guay, property manager for Preservation Management, describes Market Square Commons. She also said applicants for the apartments must be 55 or older and some income restrictions apply. “The apartments are not subsidized. But, we do take Section 8 vouchers,” she said.
Heat, hot water and more
    The insulated, green building, has solar panels on the roof to heat water. Russell Fitzpatrick, in charge of building maintenance, said the heating system “is state-of-the-art. We have the main pellet boilers — the  first two that heat the building when the temperature drops — and a third boiler as a backup. That boiler kicks in when the temperature drops so low, it will support the other two.” Fitzpatrick added that he thinks the first two will be enough to heat the building. The computerized system feeds wood pellets to the boilers from the hoppers.
    Market Square Commons is also a smoke-free building. Other amenities are the laundry rooms on each floor with two washers and two dryers on the residential floors. Guay said window shades have been ordered for each apartment. All units have carpeted and wood floors, thermostats, fire extinguishers,  sprinklers, frost-free refrigerators, electric ranges and bathroom grab bars.
    For more information, contact Preservation Management, Inc. at (800) 366-8571, ext. 101.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
STATE-OF-THE-ART — Russell Fitzpatrick is in charge of maintenance at Market Square Commons about to open in downtown Houlton. He said the two wood pellet boilers to heat the new apartments have a backup third propane boiler to keep cold away from tenants during the cold winter months.