Highland Green

Independent Assessment

The specific concern raised for Highland Green -- that a large community built around its own golf course risks being a golf/resort false positive rather than a genuinely age-restricted community -- was treated as a direct verification target, and the evidence supports genuine age restriction. The Portland Press Herald's own 2020 headline uses the words 'age-restricted community' directly, not just '55-plus' marketing language, and activeadultliving.com's decision to list Highland Green under both its dedicated 'age-restricted-communities' and '55-plus-communities' categories for Topsham is a stronger signal than a single category tag. Structurally, the golf course itself supports rather than undermines this conclusion: residents pay only if they use it, rather than it being bundled as a mandatory resort amenity fee, and Highland Green's own marketing explicitly and repeatedly distinguishes itself from golf-resort or vacation-home developments, positioning the course as one of several amenities within an owner-occupied residential community. A genuine, easily missed naming hazard was also surfaced and resolved: Topsham is also home to a separate, unrelated senior-living property called 'The Highlands' (opened 1990, sold to Chicago Pacific Founders in 2015), a traditional continuing-care community with roughly 450 residents across independent living, assisted living, and memory care on a 75-acre campus. Highland Green and The Highlands are genuinely separate properties under separate ownership; Highland Green's own site includes a blog post explicitly titled 'Not to be confused with a Retirement Community,' drawing the same distinction independently verified through separate corporate-ownership and property-history sourcing. One nuance worth disclosing directly: Highland Green itself received Topsham planning-board approval in 2019 (re-approved as recently as June 2025) to add a 48-unit assisted-living and memory-care building as part of a later development phase; as of the most recent review, that building had not yet opened and Highland Green's own site still describes assisted living as 'coming soon.' This means Highland Green's core, currently operating community is genuinely independent, owner-occupied active-adult living -- not a CCRC -- but the developer's approved future plans do include eventually adding an on-site continuum-of-care component, a material fact buyers evaluating the community's long-term character should understand.

Who May Find This Community Appealing

Buyers age 55 or older seeking Maine's largest and most established active-adult community -- with a genuinely large-scale amenity base (630-plus acres, a 230-acre nature preserve, a 9-hole golf course, custom-home options from roughly 1,400 to over 3,500 square feet) and an unusually broad draw of residents from 34 states -- are the clearest match for Highland Green. Its resident-led cooperative governance structure, transitioned fully to residents in September 2025, may particularly appeal to buyers who want genuine self-governance over community operations rather than continued developer control, while its custom-home options suit buyers who want to build to their own specifications rather than choose from a fixed set of plans.

Homes, Builders & Development History

Highland Green was founded by developer John Wasileski in the early 2000s and opened in 2003 on the north side of Route 196 in Topsham, envisioned specifically to appeal to Baby Boomers who would not choose a traditional retirement community. The campus has grown to 635 acres, including a 230-acre managed nature preserve (the Cathance River Nature Preserve) and a 9-hole, Audubon-certified golf course built in 2005. As of 2025 coverage, the community included more than 250 completed custom homes and roughly 400 residents from 34 states, with a planned Phase 4 expansion adding independent-living apartments, cottages, and (per a 2019 planning approval, re-approved June 2025) a 48-unit assisted-living and memory-care building not yet open as of the most recent review. In September 2025, Wasileski transferred day-to-day management agreements to HG Community Association LLC, composed of five resident cooperative ownership boards, while retaining ownership of the underlying land and development rights for the remaining planned phases.

Current Pricing & Market Positioning

A specific current price range for homes at Highland Green was not found, though custom homes are reported to range from roughly 1,400 to over 3,500 square feet of finished living space. Buyers should request current pricing for both custom-build and available-now homes directly from Highland Green's own sales office, given the scale and customization involved in this community's home-building process.

New Construction vs. Resale Considerations

Highland Green offers both custom-built new construction (home sites available for buyers to design and build) and 'available now' spec homes, plus a formal resale program listed on the community's own site for buyers preferring an existing home. A further expansion phase -- adding independent-living apartments, cottages, and a 48-unit assisted-living/memory-care building -- was re-approved by the Topsham Planning Board in June 2025 and remained in development as of the most recent review. Buyers should confirm current new-construction lot availability, resale inventory, and the expansion phase's expected timeline directly with Highland Green.

Taxes, Insurance & Special Assessments

Highland Green sits in the Town of Topsham, Sagadahoc County, Maine. Maine's own Fair Housing Act (5 M.R.S. Section 4581) uses the modern, post-1999 HOPA formulation for its 55-plus exemption -- a legal nuance discussed in more detail on this state's own overview page. Because Highland Green's monthly fee includes a ground lease on land the developer continues to own, property-tax treatment for individual homes may differ from a conventional fee-simple purchase; buyers should confirm the specific tax treatment directly with the Topsham Tax Assessor's office and a real-estate attorney familiar with the community's governing documents.

Golf

Highland Green's own 9-hole, par-35, 2,910-yard Scottish-links-style golf course was built in 2005 and is certified by the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program. Residents pay only if they use the course, rather than a mandatory golf fee bundled into every homeowner's dues -- a structure specifically verified to confirm Highland Green is a genuinely age-restricted ownership community rather than a golf/resort community that merely markets itself toward older buyers.

Community Layout & Lifestyle

Highland Green is organized as a large-scale, custom-home-centered active-adult campus, with more than 250 completed homes spread across 635 acres that intentionally preserve 230 acres as managed conservation land. A resident-led Cooperative Board of Directors governs shared services (lawn care, snow removal, exterior maintenance, insurance) so owners spend less time on upkeep and more time on the community's active social programming, described by residents as centered on volunteerism and shared-interest clubs. The community's own marketing repeatedly and deliberately distinguishes this owner-occupied, activity-driven lifestyle from a traditional retirement community's congregate-care model.

Shopping, Healthcare & Airport Access

Highland Green sits on the north side of Route 196 in Topsham, Maine, minutes from downtown Brunswick and within the Midcoast region. Specific drive times to downtown Portland or area hospitals could not be independently confirmed; buyers should confirm these directly with a local agent or the community's own sales office.

Age Qualification & Material Ownership Restrictions

Highland Green is confirmed genuinely age-restricted through multiple, independently converging sources: the Portland Press Herald's own 2020 headline explicitly uses the phrase 'age-restricted community,' and activeadultliving.com lists it under both its dedicated 'age-restricted-communities' and '55-plus-communities' Topsham categories, a stronger dual-category signal than a single tag. Highland Green was specifically verified not to be a golf/resort false positive: its 9-hole golf course is pay-to-play rather than a bundled resort fee, and the community's own marketing explicitly and repeatedly distinguishes itself from both golf-resort developments and traditional retirement communities, including a page on its own site titled 'Not to be confused with a Retirement Community.' It was also directly confirmed that Highland Green is a separate, distinct entity from the similarly named 'The Highlands,' a genuine continuing-care community elsewhere in Topsham under different ownership. Presented here as legally age-restricted 55+ on the strength of this consistent, multi-source, structurally verified confirmation, with the caveat -- disclosed above -- that an approved-but-not-yet-built future phase includes an on-site assisted-living and memory-care building.

Tradeoffs & Limitations

Buyers should understand Highland Green's ownership structure carefully: the monthly fee covers a ground lease on the underlying land, which developer John Wasileski continues to own and retains development rights over for future phases, even as day-to-day community management transitioned to resident cooperative boards in September 2025; exactly how individual homeowners' deeds relate to that retained land ownership could not be fully resolved from available sourcing, and buyers should have this explained directly by a real-estate attorney and the community's own governing documents before purchasing. A specific current home price range or monthly fee amount was also not confirmed; given the scale of the campus and amenities, both should be requested directly. Buyers specifically interested in confirming Highland Green will remain a non-CCRC, independent-living-only community over time should be aware that an assisted-living and memory-care building (48 units) has been approved by the Topsham Planning Board (most recently re-approved June 2025) as a future phase, though it was not yet built or operating as of the most recent review -- a fact worth discussing directly with the community about how it may change Highland Green's character going forward.

Comparison With Nearby Communities

Highland Green is a large, well-established community in Topsham, with a scale of 635 acres, more than 250 homes, and 400 residents from 34 states. It should not be confused with The Highlands, a separate, unrelated continuing-care retirement community also located in Topsham under different, institutional ownership (Chicago Pacific Founders) -- the two properties share a superficially similar name but are genuinely distinct in ownership, structure, and level of care offered. In Midcoast Maine, Highland Green's golf-course, custom-home, large-campus model contrasts sharply with Penobscot Shores in Belfast, a much smaller, cooperative-share independent-living community on Penobscot Bay -- buyers weighing Midcoast options should treat these as genuinely different scales and lifestyles.

Current Listings

Highland Green's own site (highlandgreenlifestyle.com) maintains a dedicated resale listings page and can provide current custom-home pricing, available-now inventory, and the current monthly fee structure directly.

Is Highland Green age-restricted, or is it just a golf community that markets to older buyers?

It is genuinely age-restricted. Portland Press Herald's own 2020 headline calls it an 'age-restricted community' directly, and activeadultliving.com lists it under both its dedicated age-restricted and 55-plus Topsham categories. Its golf course is pay-to-play, not a bundled resort fee, and Highland Green's own marketing explicitly distinguishes itself from golf-resort developments.

Is Highland Green the same as The Highlands in Topsham?

No. Highland Green and The Highlands are separate, unrelated properties under different ownership. The Highlands, opened in 1990 and owned by Chicago Pacific Founders since 2015, is a traditional continuing-care community with independent living, assisted living, and memory care. Highland Green, founded in the early 2000s by developer John Wasileski, is an owner-occupied, custom-home active-adult community that explicitly markets itself as distinct from a traditional retirement community.

Does Highland Green have assisted living or memory care on-site?

Not yet, as of the most recent review. The Topsham Planning Board approved a 48-unit assisted-living and memory-care building as a future phase (most recently re-approved June 2025), but it had not opened as of the most recent review; Highland Green's own site still describes it as 'coming soon.' The community's currently operating homes are independent, owner-occupied active-adult living.