Project underway will add 200 apartments in Portland’s West Bayside neighborhood

PHOTO / TINA FISCHER The site for an affordable apartment complex covers a full city block on Elm Street, between Oxford and Lancaster Streets.

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By Tina Fischer

Avesta Housing and Reveler Development have broken ground on a 201-unit affordable housing complex on the corner of Elm and Oxford Streets in Portland.

Units in the complex will be made available to people earning no more than 60% of the area median income — which is $90,860, meaning the apartments will be open to residents with a maximum individual income of $54,516.

The complex will fill an entire block between Lancaster and Oxford streets and will include 39 studios, 141 one-bedroom apartments and 21 two-bedroom apartments. All will have energy efficient appliances.

Both management and social services offices will be onsite, along with a fitness center, laundry facilities, community room with kitchenette, common patio and lounge spaces and bike storage.

The property will have controlled-access entry and security cameras throughout.

“This is an exciting project for Reveler Development. Our vision for this master-planned site has always included a diversity of housing options. Our partnership with Avesta is a great model for addressing the housing shortage in this challenging environment," said John Laliberte, CEO of Reveler.

Avesta is a nonprofit, while Reveler is a for-profit developer; both area based in Portland.

Other Reveler projects include the 171-unit mixed-use, market rate Armature, also in West Bayside, along with the Levee and the Eddy, both recently completed in Biddeford.

Construction will be managed by Penobscot General Contractors, of Falmouth, and Turner Construction, which is based in New York City and has a Portland office. Portland-based Ryan Senatore Architects is the design firm.

The project is targeted for completion in 2027.

Financing

Financing for the $87.8 million Elm Street project is being managed by WNC & Associates., which is headquartered in Irvine, Calif.. It has invested in other projects in Maine, most recently the redevelopment of the Riverton Park community.

In a statement about the West Bayside build, the firm said its investing $35.5 million in equity through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. In addition to that equity, the project will be financed with tax-exempt bond proceeds.

Funds through MaineHousing will provide for a $54 million construction loan, which will be paid down to a permanent loan of $21.73 million. During construction, a soft loan from MaineHousing totaling $23.72 million will also be funded. Additional financing includes a $2.14 million Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund loan and a $1.04 million loan to the partnership from Avesta Development, with Efficiency Maine funds.

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