Augusta has plans to build new housing at site of former Kmart [Video]

Once-vibrant strip malls across several Maine communities now stand empty, but developers see them as the future home of new housing.In Augusta, the shuttered Kmart at Augusta Plaza off Western Avenue is being targeted for redevelopment by city officials.”We’re bringing a mixed-use project that will include a new hotel, retail, office space but, as we’ve discussed, about sixty units of market-rate housing that is much-needed in a mixed-use development,” said Keith Luke, Augusta’s director of economic development.Luke said mixed-use projects are popular up and down the East Coast. He said in cities like Charlotte, North Carolina, these types of projects are the norm.”These types of mixed-use projects include everything from charter schools to retail to gyms and lifestyle activities with housing on the upper floors,” Luke said.According to Luke, the housing at the former Kmart would be attractive to young professionals looking for a short commute to work.”It has the …