CARIBOU, Maine — The city of Caribou will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 20, regarding the rezoning of eight properties along Paris Snow Drive and four along Marshall Avenue, all of which either include or are near the former Hilltop Elementary School building.
In the city’s notice regarding the upcoming hearing, officials indicate the locations would be switched from a Residential 1 zone, which covers most of the older residential neighborhoods in Caribou “and contains mostly high density single family dwellings” to a Residential 2 classification, which “still features single family dwellings but also allows multi-family dwellings.”
Since shuttering Hilltop to make way for a new PreK-8 school, the city has sold the former elementary school to Caribou Senior Living, LLC, a company consisting of local investors who wish to transform the building into a senior living facility.
In August, city officials approved a tax credit agreement in which the 7.26 acre piece of land would be designated as a Tax Increment Financing district, and the city would pay back 95 percent of property taxes to the company so the developers can reinvest in the project over the next 30 years. Members of the LLC will, however, still pay taxes on items inside the senior living facility such as equipment and appliances.
The public hearing is set to start at 6 p.m. and also is scheduled to include discussion about changing three properties on Washburn Street from Commercial 2 to R-2.
