COURTESY PORTLAND HOUSING AUTHORITY
Renovation at the Riverton Park neighborhood will include a new 64-unit building (at upper right) and added green space.
June 4, 2025
Major renovations getting underway at Portland’s Riverton Park housing complex
RENDERING COURTESY PORTLAND HOUSING AUTHORITY
In addition to renovations for all of the existing apartments at Riverton Park, a new four-story complex will be built to provide an additional 64 units..
Portland Housing Authority has just received funding to move forward with a $58 million rehab of the Riverton Park neighborhood. In addition to top-to-bottoom renovations to 141 townhouse apartments, a new four-story building will add 64 units of affordable homes for lower-income residents, expanding the community to a total of 182 apartments.
The 50-year-old complex is located off of Forest Avenue, not far from Riverside Street. It caters to families by offering hard-to-find larger apartments, some with as many as six bedrooms, as well as a child-care facility run by Opportunity Alliance, an education center that provides both after-school study programs and adult classes, a food pantry, a policing center, playgrounds and a health clinic.
As part of the renovations, the 500-square-foot health clinic will be enlarged to 2,000 square feet, and will expand services and add staff.
All of the apartments will be upgraded with energy efficient appliances, fresh paint and new insulation, windows and doors to minimize heat loss and improve overall efficiency and tenants’ comfort.
CWS Architects, based in Scarborough is handling design, Freeport’s Zachau Construction is the builder, and Pat Carroll Associates will be revitalizing the outdoor spaces.
Funding is coming from multiple sources including Low Income Housing Tax Credits through MaineHousing, which is also providing a $42 million mortgage. The city of Portland is providing $1.5 million from the Jill C. Duson Housing Trust Fund as well as federal HOME funds.
(The city’s housing trust fund saw inputs of $6,056,387 in 2024 from the hotel and residential Inclusionary Zoning fee, short-term rental fees, and a General Fund allocation.)
All 182 apartments are restricted to households with incomes at or below 80% of the area median income and half will be available to households earning at or below 50% AMI. Over half of the residents are eligible for Section 8 vouchers which caps rental and utilities costs at no more than 30% of income.
Tyler Plante, development director with Portland Housing Authority, which owns the property and is managing the rebuild, told Mainebiz that waits to get into PHA housing can be as long as five to seven years.
The Riverton renovation project has been in the works since 2018 and has been a collaborative effort, Plante said with the city, funders, and residents who have provided input. “It’s been a total team effort and a significant undertaking for PHA and for Portland.”
Plante said renovation at the complex is overdue, and once completed will serve generations to come. “We really think of this project as a profound opportunity to improve the lives of families.
“This is unique among housing projects. We won’t just renovate and build homes at Riverton, but we’ll elevate an entire community, so that more families can have safe, abundant housing.”
Residents will be temporarily relocated to a few vacant apartments on site during the project, which is expected to be fully completed in late 2027.
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