A controversial proposal to turn a former medical center into 34 apartments goes before the Gardiner Planning Board on Tuesday.

Hathaway Holdings LLC of Waterville first pitched its plan in June 2020, which at the time was described as a $6.2 million three-phase project with apartments, townhouses and condominiums. The developer wants to transform the former MaineGeneral Health complex on Dresden Avenue into a mix of market rate and affordable housing.

Updated plans submitted in February of this year show a request for the first phase, a $3.65 million project to renovate the original medical building, according to information on file with the city. The plan is to build six studio, 18 one-bedroom and 10 two-bedroom units.

Seven of those will be designated as affordable. The proposal includes adding a new entrance off Dresden Avenue, a cul-de-sac and 10 parking spaces. The former medical center is in an established neighborhood, with large older homes and mature trees.

The proposal comes amid a statewide push to increase available affordable housing for Mainers and for those projected to move to the state over the next 10 years. In addition to market rate housing, the state needs 19,000 additional low-income units to meet demand, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Since the Gardiner plan was first unveiled, some residents have pushed back against the proposal. Lisa St. Hilaire, an abutter on River Avenue and Planning Board member, said neighbors are concerned about the number of units proposed.

“It’s basically doubling the density of the neighborhood,” said St. Hilaire, who recuses herself from board actions on the project because of her involvement as a neighbor.

She said when the application first came forward, 40-50 people were opposed. That number has since dropped to a smaller handful, she said. And though she doesn’t live on Dresden Avenue, she describes it as a beautiful part of the city.

“Dresden Avenue is probably the nicest street in Gardiner,” she said. “It’s a quiet, tree-lined residential street.”

And while St. Hilaire and others are concerned about the density of the proposal, developer Paul Boghossian’s application for the project responds to some of those claims. Boghossian, who has previously renovated old mill buildings in Waterville to create the Hathaway Creative Center, indicated that the former medical building in Gardiner was not a good fit for a residential area.

“This is already a site that is not at all in harmony with the neighborhood,” according to the application.

He goes on to describe the buildings as “1970s Soviet-style buildings that no one would consider attractive.” When the building was used as a medical center, it generated 300 car trips per day, according to the application. The medical center closed in 2019 when MaineGeneral opened a new facility at Central Maine Crossing, near the I-295 interchange.

Boghossian, who did not return a call from Spectrum News Maine, describes the project on his LinkedIn page as one “which will merge the practices of historical adaptive reuse, smart growth, and green building, serving to fill a gap for quality housing in central Maine.”

The Gardiner Planning board meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall on Church Street.