Augusta City Council on Thursday will consider extending a lease option on land behind the former Hodgkins School as part of city efforts to spark more affordable senior housing.

Plans call for 32 one-bedroom units and two studio units to be built on a portion of the playing fields behind the school, said Economic Development Director Keith Luke.

“This fits entirely within the city council’s top priority of creating additional affordable senior housing,” Luke said. “This is a step in the right direction.”

The former school has already been renovated into 47 senior housing units called Hodgkins School Apartments.

Data from MaineHousing shows that Augusta needs 873 additional affordable units to meet demand, with 424 of those designated as senior housing, said Augusta Housing Executive Director Norman Maze.

Like many places in Maine, Augusta has a sizable senior population on fixed incomes, he said. More than half of local seniors are paying more than 30% of their income toward housing expenses.

The council order extends an existing three-year option agreement for another three years at a lease cost of $1. Once the project is complete, the city will consider whether to enter into a long-term lease on the property or sell it outright, Luke said.

He said Developers Collaborative, which is working with the housing authority on the project, recently received needed funding to keep things moving forward. The land is on Malta Street on the city’s east side.

Maze emphasized that the pickleball courts and hiking trails that are there now will stay, with the new building on the field behind the school.

He said the housing complex, which will be for those 55 and older, is estimated to cost $11 million. In addition to a low-income tax credit, they are working to get Community Development Block Grant funds, money from MaineHousing and potentially funding for solar power to help move the project along.

The units would be for those earning 60% or less of the area median income, which is $36,540 for a one-person household, he said.

If all goes as planned, they will break ground in 2025 and potentially be ready for tenants a little over a year later.

The housing authority also has 32 family workforce housing units under construction on land formerly used by Statler Tissue.

In addition, they are hoping to partner with the developer of the former police station on Union Street. The city received three bids for the project — which officials hope will include a significant number of affordable units — and the city is reviewing the proposals, according to City Manager Jared Mills.

Luke said the item on Thursday’s council agenda is routine but is necessary to ensure the project moves forward.

“This is a project we’ve been working on for several years now,” Luke said. “This project is moving ahead.”