Developer seeks to build 100+ new homes on Post Road in Wells, Maine

Shawn P. Sullivan, Portsmouth Herald

WELLS, Maine — A developer from Massachusetts is seeking to build 110 single-family homes and 40 multi-family townhouses on currently undeveloped property behind the antiques shop at 502 Post Road.

On Monday, the Wells Planning Board will receive a pre-application for the proposal, which is seeking to subdivide 44 acres into eight lots. As well, the board likely will schedule a site walk at the property for a date in April, according to the agenda for its March 4 meeting.

The property falls within the town’s general business, 75-foot shoreland overlay, and rural districts.

This map details how a developer hopes to build more than 100 new homes and about 40 new townhouses on currently wooded property behind the antiques shop at 502 Post Road in Wells, Maine.
This map details how a developer hopes to build more than 100 new homes and about 40 new townhouses on currently wooded property behind the antiques shop at 502 Post Road in Wells, Maine.

The developer, Arnie J. Martel, of AJM Construction, of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, said the project is a combined effort with the owner of the property, Richard Jorgensen, who operates the antique shop on the site.

“We’re at the beginning stages of this,” Martel said during an interview on Feb. 29. “There are still a lot of moving parts to this.”

Martel also said he is not seeking to maximize the density of the wooded property.

“I just want to create a nice community for the town,” he said.

A developer is proposing to build more than 100 new homes and about 40 new townhouses on currently wooded property behind the antiques shop at 502 Post Road in Wells, Maine.
A developer is proposing to build more than 100 new homes and about 40 new townhouses on currently wooded property behind the antiques shop at 502 Post Road in Wells, Maine.

While a public hearing on the proposal likely will not be scheduled until a later date, residents already are weighing in on the project on social media.

Earlier this week, a resident posted images of the application’s paperwork on the “Wells, Maine” page on Facebook, prompting a lengthy discussion about development, zoning, taxes, traffic, housing, quality of life, and other topics. Some commenters urged others to attend the upcoming Planning Board meeting.

Jones & Beach Engineers, of New Hampshire, is the firm that submitted the paperwork on the applicant’s behalf.

Martel said he hopes the people of Wells will be open to his idea for what he said would be a gated community.

“I think it will be a nice addition,” he said.

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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Developer seeks to build 100+ new homes on Post Road in Wells, Maine

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