Bangor, Maine, February 18, 2025 – Residents of Cedar Falls Mobile Home Park formed a cooperative and today signed an $8 million deal to purchase their community, preserving nearly 130 affordable homes and solidifying plans to install dozens of new homes on the 79-acre park.

“Working alongside the residents of Cedar Falls and with the Cooperative Development Institute, Genesis was pleased to help bring together the many financing partners that made this purchase possible,” said Liza Fleming-Ives, executive director of the Genesis Community Loan Fund. “This is a model for how lenders, public partners, and community organizations can collaborate to mobilize resources and make resident ownership a reality for those who live in mobile home communities. We’re excited to celebrate the resident-purchase of Cedar Falls, and we’re committed to working with other communities across the state to preserve and expand affordable housing and ensure stability and security for families throughout Maine.”

Cedar Falls on Finson Road is home to families and seniors, many who have lived in the park for more than a decade. Before the purchase, they owned their manufactured homes, but not the land underneath their homes, which made residents vulnerable to lot rent hikes and possible displacement.

Today, the residents own the land together and can feel secure in their homes, thanks to their hard work, a new law and fund created by Gov. Janet Mills and the Maine Legislature, and support from the City of Bangor, regional lenders and donors, and a cooperative developer.

Residents Purchase Their Community, Preserving Affordable Homes

Last summer, the residents of Cedar Falls were notified by the owner of the park that their community was going up for sale and that an outside buyer made a bid. Residents sought the help of the nonprofit Cooperative Development Institute, which helped the residents organize to form the Cedar Falls Residents Cooperative and successfully outbid the outside offer to purchase the park themselves.

Under a new state “Opportunity to Purchase” law, owners of manufactured home communities are required to notify residents when their park goes up for sale. Since the law went into effect in October 2023, Cedar Falls is the second manufactured home community to become resident owned. It is the 12th manufactured home community in Maine to transition to resident ownership.

“We have an older community, and they were worried that if a developer came in, their community would go away,” said Alvin MacNevin, Treasurer of the Cedar Falls’ volunteer board of directors. “We sat down with residents for one or two hours at a time helping to educate them about the process we were planning to go through and the result that could come out on the other end. The residents were fully on board after that, but it took us sitting in their living room, talking to them and convincing them that it was possible. You need a lot of patience, and you can’t give up.”

Cedar Falls Mobile Home Park was originally built in 1987 by a family and was sold to a New Hampshire-based apartment management firm in the early 2000s.

Maine has 476 manufactured home communities, home to some 20,000 residents who are vulnerable to ownership changes that can bring substantial rent hikes.

“MaineHousing is pleased to support this resident-led effort through the Mobile Home Park Preservation Fund,” said MaineHousing Director Daniel Brennan. “The residents of Cedar Falls deserve all the credit for coming together to protect and preserve their own housing but also for protecting affordable housing for generations of future residents. We are very grateful for the support of Governor Mills and the Maine Legislature in creating this fund. We also know this work would not be possible without community-focused lenders like Bangor Savings Bank and local elected officials who are also investing in an affordable housing future for Bangor.”

The Maine Legislature created the Mobile Home Park Preservation Fund to help leverage support from private lenders, community banks, and municipalities, and also to stabilize costs for residents. It has now helped make nearly 500 affordable homes possible. Governor Mills has proposed a $3 million allocation to the Fund in the biennial budget proposal the Legislature is currently considering.

The purchase was made possible by Bangor Savings Bank; Genesis Community Loan Fund, with investment by the John T. Gorman Foundation; MaineHousing; Cooperative Fund of the Northeast; Four Directions Development Corporation; and the City of Bangor, which accessed federal Community Development Block Grant funding.

Adding 28 New Affordable Homes

In addition to financing the purchase of the community, MaineHousing will also provide a $3 million loan to help develop the community’s 28 empty lots, which already have existing sewer, water, and electric hookups. Bangor Housing, a quasi-governmental agency that provides apartments for low-income residents, will work with the residents to repair the empty lots and install new manufactured homes.

Bangor Housing, which has its largest housing development with 500 units located across the street from Cedar Falls, is hoping the new homes will be an opportunity for graduates of its Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program to become first-time home buyers. However, the new manufactured homes at Cedar Falls will not be reserved and they will be open for anyone who wants to buy them, said Mike Myatt, executive director of Bangor Housing.

“This partnership will generate more revenue for the Cedar Falls community while giving Bangor Housing residents the opportunity to become homeowners for the first time,” said Myatt. “We have residents who are ready to take that next step to become homeowners but there’s nowhere to move to. There are no homes to buy. With this development project, our residents will be able to move right across the street, where they can continue to have access to our services, their kids can continue to go to the same school, and they can stay close to their network of friends. They can have something to call their own, which will be the first time for many of them.”

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“Congratulations to the residents of Cedar Falls Mobile Home Park for taking their homes into their own hands,” said Greg Payne, Senior Housing Advisor in the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. “This is precisely the type of outcome that Governor Mills envisioned in creating the Mobile Home Park Preservation Fund and Opportunity to Purchase law with the Legislature. Not only will this collaborative effort secure nearly 130 safe, affordable homes for families and seniors, but it will also make home ownership a reality for additional Bangor residents by developing 30 unused lots. With continued support from lawmakers, the Fund can preserve even more vital affordable housing into the future.”

“At Bangor Savings Bank, we believe that access to stable and affordable housing is essential to building strong communities,” said Jacob Baker, Vice President, Commercial Banking Relationship Manager at Bangor Savings Bank. “We are proud to support the residents of Cedar Falls in this landmark purchase, ensuring long-term housing security for families and seniors. By working together with public and private partners, we can create opportunities that strengthen Maine’s communities and make homeownership more accessible for all.”

“The Cedar Falls residents pulled this off in the dead of winter, regularly going door to door in a community of almost 130 homes, braving 10 degree weather and snow – all to make sure information got out, and neighbors could make this decision about purchasing their community together,” said Nora Gosselin, Cooperative DeveIopment Institute’s Director of Resident Acquisitions. “They were supported by a dynamic and collaborative lending team, by their city and state electeds, and by MaineHousing and Bangor Housing. It’s really incredible to see so many partners come together to creatively accomplish both the preservation of existing homes, and the production of new units of housing.”

“We were thrilled to accept the invitation from Bangor Savings Bank to participate in financing this purchase. Not only are we invested in the way ROCs use the co-op model to preserve dignified and affordable housing, we support laws and policies that encourage co-op development as a solution,” said Micha Josephy, Executive Director of the Cooperative Fund of the Northeast. “We are glad to see laws like the Opportunity to Purchase law inspiring communities like Cedar Falls to consider and act on having more ownership of where they live. Coupled with the right financing and technical support, laws like this make a real difference in increasing co-op formation and growth.”

“For the last two years, the Bangor City Council has identified housing as one of its’ priorities. It was great to be able to bring that commitment to fruition in partnership with others. Our investment helped to preserve access to affordable, sustainable and stable housing for our current and future residents” said Bangor City Council Chair Cara Pelletier.

“Safe, stable housing is fundamental to family well-being – providing not just a secure home, but a foundation for building long-term economic security that can benefit multiple generations,” said John T. Gorman Foundation President & CEO Nicole Witherbee. “At a time when Maine families face unprecedented housing challenges, the John T. Gorman Foundation is proud to support this innovative partnership to preserve existing homes in the Cedar Falls community while creating new opportunities for Bangor families to access home ownership.”

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About the Genesis Community Loan Fund

Genesis Community Loan Fund is a certified nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) dedicated to connecting communities in Maine and northern New England with the capital and expertise needed to overcome barriers to opportunity and prosperity. Genesis provides flexible loans, expert project guidance, and policy advocacy to create affordable housing, healthcare, childcare, and other essential community infrastructure. Learn more at www.genesisloanfund.org. Media inquiries: Elyse Tipton, elyse@genesisfund.org

About Cooperative Development Institute (CDI)

The Cooperative Development Institute (CDI) is a nationally recognized nonprofit, serving communities in the Northeast including New England and New York. Our mission is to develop and strengthen cooperatives to grow a more prosperous and equitable economy. With 30 years of experience in cooperative development and our understanding of the unique needs of the communities in our region, CDI develops and supports a wide range of cooperative enterprises including housing, businesses and start-ups, and employee ownership transitions. CDI’s New England Resident Owned Communities Program has helped residents of 61 manufactured home parks raise more than $305 million in capital to purchase their communities and permanently preserved over 5,900 units of affordable housing. CDI is a ROC USA Certified Technical Assistance Provider. Visit https://cdi.coop/ to learn more.

About the John T. Gorman Foundation

The John T. Gorman Foundation is a private foundation based in Portland, Maine, with a mission to make Maine a more equitable place where all children and families can thrive. This focus reflects the recognition of our founder Tom Gorman that his personal success and achievement were largely derived from the support provided to him by his family and community, as well as his desire to provide those with fewer advantages opportunities to succeed. Learn more at www.jtgfoundation.org.

About Bangor Savings Bank

Bangor Savings Bank, with over $7 billion in assets, offers retail banking, business and comprehensive commercial banking, payment and corporate services, HR and payroll technologies and merchant solutions. Wealth management, investment and financial planning services are offered through Bangor Wealth Management, a division of Bangor Savings Bank, and Bangor Wealth Management of New Hampshire, LLC, a New Hampshire trust company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Bangor Savings Bank. Investment information can be found at www.bangor.com/investments. Headquartered in Bangor, Maine, the Bank was founded in 1852 and is in its 173rd year, and currently has 69 branches in Maine and New Hampshire and business and/or loan production offices in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Bangor Savings Bank and The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation invested more than $3.6 million into the region through sponsorships, grants, and partnership initiatives last year. Bangor Savings Bank is an equal-opportunity employer. To learn more, please visit us at www.bangor.com. Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender.