Portland City Council to review tonight affordable housing proposal for Brighton Avenue

Photo / Courtesy City of Portland This aerial photo of 1125 Brighton Ave. shows the two sites the city is considering leasing for affordable housing development.

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By Tina Fischer

An affordable housing proposal for 1125 Brighton Avenue in Portland, designed to provide homes for up to 100 families and individuals, is under consideration by the city.

It is on the agenda for tonight’s 5 p.m. Portland City Council meeting, which can be viewed online.

The city put out a request for proposals in February for the lease and development of two city-owned parcels on a 15-acre property shared with the Barron Center long-term care facility and Loring House apartments. From the five submitted, the council’s four-member Housing and Economic Development committee on May 12 voted 3-1 to recommend to council a joint project by Developers Collaborative and ProsperityME.

When building affordable housing at 1125 Brighton Ave. was first discussed last fall, abutters on Holm Avenue strongly objected to the city’s initial plan to reserve up to half of the units for members of the homeless community. But as the final proposal has surfaced, one local homeowner says neighbors are now in favor of the new plan.

The current proposal is designed to house mostly families, with a range of incomes at or below 30% to 80% of the area mean income, and 70% of the units to include two or more bedrooms.

Developers Collaborative principal Kevin Bunker told the housing committee that he sees a more urgent need for housing for families, rather than individuals and seniors.

Developers Collaborative has built affordable and senior housing projects across the state and last year developed a 52,000-square-foot, 208-bed Homeless Service Center for adults, at 654 Riverside St.

Bunker told Mainebiz that there are currently 43 families, a total of 122 people, living at the city’s Family Shelter at 54 Chestnut St. Bunker added that in the last four years, 923 units for seniors and 560 for families were built with Maine State Housing Low-Income Tax Credits for affordable housing.

He also noted that there are 588 students in Portland Public Schools who come from families with no permanent home.

“That is probably the starkest, most troubling fact we have,” Bunker said.

While the city’s RFP called for building on both sites, Bunker’s proposal prioritizes building first on the square parcel at the front of the property, Site 1, on the corner of Holm Avenue, noting it’s a far less complicated site than the triangular-shaped plot, Site 2, which is behind the Barron Center and adjacent to the Maine Turnpike.

“We qualified our response by saying that Site 2 was much more difficult to figure out if it was buildable, and that we would need more time not only to work on due diligence, but to work with the neighborhood on an appropriate scheme, if indeed there is one,” Bunker told Mainebiz.

“So the plan is to prioritize Site 1 and work on that this year while we learn more about Site 2.”

Members of the council’s Housing and Economic Development Committee had expressed concerns when reviewing proposals at its May 12 meeting, about building housing so close to the turnpike, citing air-quality concerns.

Site 1 is also farther from the Holm Avenue neighborhood, a plan which has appeased abutters.

Derryen Plante was one of the most vocal homeowners in opposing a project on Site 2 back in the fall, before an actual proposal had been presented.

Now Plante told Mainebiz, “As someone who lives near Site 2, I appreciated that Developers Collaborative/ProsperityME took a thoughtful, community-focused approach. Their proposal stood out as a meaningful investment in both the neighborhood and the local economy. While some neighbors still have concerns about any development taking place at this location, my concerns have always been centered around the risk of increased crime and instability from placing unhoused individuals in this location.

“With so many resources already directed toward unhoused adults, we risk overlooking the urgent need to ensure children have a safe, stable place to live. Opportunities to build family housing in the city are limited, and this feels like one we can’t afford to miss.”