The first tenants of Mobius Inc.’s Chandler House, on Academy Hill in Newcastle, received the keys to their apartments during the building’s grand opening Wednesday, June 27.
The building at 21 Academy Hill Road contains five apartments and will house seven adults. The tenants are clients of Mobius Inc., a Damariscotta-based nonprofit that serves people with disabilities.
The purpose of Chandler House is to provide affordable housing for Mobius clients, giving them the opportunity to live independently, according to Mobius Inc. Executive Director Rebecca Emmons.
This is their “first opportunity to launch into adulthood in a community of their choice,” Emmons said.
One of the first tenants, Dalton Kinney, 27, said he was ready to “finally get out of my dad’s house!”
A graduate of Lincoln Academy, Kinney previously lived with his father in Warren.
The building, which dates to the 1860s, needed significant work before it could be used for apartments.
Mobius Inc. named the building the Chandler House after John and Lida Chandler, who bought the house in 1919. Lida Chandler lived in the home until her death in 1964, according to Arlene Cole’s “Newcastle History” column in the May 9, 2017 edition of The Lincoln County News.
Mobius Inc. received approval to convert the building into apartments from the Newcastle Planning Board in February 2017.
Jessica Picard photo