At 7:21 p.m. Monday, June 3, Wiscasset Newspaper received the following email from Tom Junkert, priest-in charge for St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Hodge Street, Wiscasset, on behalf of the vestry and congregation:

“St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Wiscasset has long had a tradition of reaching out to the community we serve with a mission of providing assistance where needed, offering a safe and warm space, and touching people with hope and love.  From the weekly food distribution of the Help Yourself Shelf, to the Bargain Basement Thrift Store offering clothes, household items and more, our mission has  been one of service to our larger Wiscasset Community.

“Since 2023, we have partnered with Amistad, now known as Commonspace, to expand our outreach at a critical time of providing shelter during the cold winter months. A more robust project was launched last year when Commonspace was awarded grant monies from MaineHousing for Long-Term Solutions Funds. Those Funds were intended to create low cost housing units within the existing St Philip's structure.

“In his May 20, 2024, letter to the St Philip's congregation, Brian Townsend, Commonspace Executive Director, wrote, ... ‘Our project team, including the architect we hired to draft the project design plan, had been operating until just a few weeks ago under an interpretation of town statutes related to permissible site usage that proved to be incorrect. When we learned that we would be limited to a considerably lower number of dwelling units than the number we had applied to construct, we reached out to MaineHousing to request that our agreement be amended to allow for this reduction. Unfortunately, the significant reduction we were requesting would have represented a material change in the existing agreement, and would thus void the agreement. Given this, we had no choice but to withdraw the proposal we had made ... With this funding no longer available to us, and with no replacement funding available, we unfortunately have no choice but to abandon this project.'

“Brian concluded with these words; ‘We deeply regret that we are unable to bring this project to fulfillment, as the need for affordable housing units in this region is massive and only growing. MaineHousing has also expressed their disappointment, as they are of course keenly aware of this need, which prompted the release of their Long-Term Solutions funding opportunity. We know that St. Philip's launched into partnership on this project with us out of deep concern for the needs of our fellow community members, and that the news that the project is terminating will be a heavy blow for all of you.’

“We share Brian's sentiments and appreciate his remarks.  We also know there is a growing number of community members who share this concern for affordable housing. As with any project of this magnitude, we were also aware of opposition from some village residents. We hope that, in the future, St Philip's and Wiscasset can unite with compassion and courage to accomplish those projects beneficial to the entire Wiscasset community St Philip's seeks to serve.”