Jamie Berry-Brennan was skeptical when his wife suggested they build an accessory dwelling unit for his parents on their Peaks Island property.
But he also knew he wanted them closer.
His three young kids were growing up fast and rarely got to see their grandparents, who lived 100 miles away in Troy.
“It was just kind of sad. We wanted to try to figure out a way that they could see more of our family and we could see more of them,” he said.
Finding a safe, comfortable and reasonably priced home on the island proved futile. Soon, an accessory dwelling unit started to look not just appealing, but like the only logical option.
Accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, are increasingly touted as a way to ease — if not solve — Maine’s stubborn housing crisis. Sometimes called in-law apartments or granny flats, these small homes, usually between 600 and 1,000 square feet, share a lot (and sometimes a wall) with an existing home.