SCARBOROUGH — A victory for historic preservation, the Southgate Farm in Scarborough, built in 1805, has been converted into 38 new and affordable homes.

Avesta Housing, a nonprofit developer and owner of the property, celebrated the grand opening of Southgate on Oct. 23, and the public was invited to join and tour a few of the new apartments.

The property was purchased in 2014, said Senior Vice President Eric Boucher. The builders were able to work with the town of Scarborough to convert the property into homes.

Informational brochures Avesta provided said that 15 of the homes are for residents who earn at or below 60 percent of the area median income. Twenty-three are for residents at or below 50 percent, and 20 percent of the homes are for households at risk of becoming homeless.