Host Tom Bell explores how Accessory Dwelling Units are helping Maine homeowners navigate the state’s housing affordability crisis. He talks with two local residents—Mark Baker of Portland and Keri Ouellette of South Portland—who have each built an ADU for different reasons.

Mark Baker and his wife, Lynn, recently retired and wanted to move from Fresno, California, to Portland, Maine, to be closer to their daughter, her husband, and their two young grandchildren. But with housing costs in Portland significantly higher than in Fresno, they chose a creative solution: tearing down their daughter’s detached two-car garage in North Deering and building an ADU in its place. 

In South Portland, Keri Ouellette and her husband were looking to create a little more breathing room in their 1,250-square-foot home. Because of their lot’s unusual shape, they found that building a detached ADU was more practical and less expensive than a conventional addition. Their 550-square-foot ADU includes a full kitchen, a living room with a dedicated home office area, and one bedroom, and thanks to modular construction, the unit was move-in ready just six months after the project began.

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