BIW and Developers Collaborative break ground on the new workforce housing project in Bath in hopes to retain the shipbuilding workforce by having them live in the city within walking or biking distance of the shipyard. (Courtesy of Bath Iron Works)

The Midcoast’s largest employer broke ground last week on the construction of three apartment buildings for shipyard workers who have struggled to find affordable housing in the area.

Bath Iron Works and its parent company General Dynamics will build 84 units, including studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments at 150 Congress Ave., within walking and biking distance of the shipyard. The development is years in the making and is the company’s most dramatic step so far to boost its workforce.

A rendering of the apartment units for 150 Congress Ave. BIW is partnering with Portland-based Developers Collaborative to build out the development over the next two years. (Courtesy of Bath Iron Works)

“We must improve our ability to attract and retain shipbuilders,” said BIW President Charles Krugh during a groundbreaking ceremony last week. “Housing is a key piece of that effort. Furthermore, this investment in housing supports our goal of ensuring Bath remains a vibrant City of Ships where shipbuilders can live, work and play.”

Shipbuilders working for BIW have long told the company they have difficulty finding housing near work, which results in long commutes or forces them to live with friends or family nearby, according to BIW spokesperson David Hench. The company expects high demand for these apartments.

The project will cost $20 million, with funding coming from General Dynamics and the Navy, which contracts with Bath Iron Works to build and service its destroyers. Other financing is arranged by Developers Collaborative, a Portland-based real estate developer, Hench said.

Maine’s congressional delegation supported the project as part of a $34 million appropriation in fiscal year 2023 for the Navy, which also went toward the free bus service, increasing child care slots and slashing the job training timeline for shipbuilders.

The apartments will be priced below market rate to make them affordable for entry-level shipyard workers, Hench said.

“One of the most severe challenges we face in retaining our current workforce — and also attracting new employees — is the high cost and limited supply of housing in Midcoast Maine,” Krugh said.

This project is the latest in a series of steps taken by the shipyard to make BIW a more attractive place to work long term. Last month, BIW and the Bath Area Family YMCA opened the Early Learning Center at Cook’s Corner to fill the gaps in child care services for shipbuilding families.

BIW is working with the city to add a bus service between the 150 Congress Ave. apartment buildings and the main shipyard because demand will likely increase.

“Just by investing in projects like [the 150 Congress Ave. project] and supporting them, we are getting some of that new sidewalk infrastructure, enhanced crossing and thinking about how we are calming traffic in those areas and reducing vehicular congestion,” Bath City Councilor Julie Ambrosino said in an interview.

The BIW workforce housing project bolsters strategies laid out in Bath’s Comprehensive Plan passed in 2023, as well as the city’s Complete Streets policy, which both aim to connect the Congress Avenue corridor to the downtown area, Ambrosino said.

The Bath Planning Board gave final approval to the workforce housing development in November 2024.

Bath Housing acquired ‌150 Congress Ave. in 2022 and sold it to Developers Collaborative earlier this year. Developers Collaborative will own and manage the new apartments under the terms of its agreement with BIW, Hench said.