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March 18, 2019

Real estate broker plans a halfway house for homeless men in Portland

Photo / Peter Van Allen Josh Soley of Maine Realty Advisors bought 54 Maple St. in Portland and partnered with Freedom House to establish a halfway house for individuals registered as homeless.
By Laurie Schreiber

A broker's investment in a former Portland rehabilitation residence is expected to pave the way for its conversion into a halfway house for the homeless.

Axe Cap LLC bought the building at 54 Maple St. from Opportunity Alliance on Feb. 15 for $475,000. Axe Cap LLC is owned by Josh Soley of Maine Realty Advisors, who represented himself in the transaction. Joe Malone and Jennifer Small of Malone Commercial Brokers represented the seller.

Soley said the two and a half story 19th century brick building will be used as a 16-room halfway house for men registered as homeless for longer than six months.

Opportunity Alliance, a social services organization headquartered in South Portland, holds a leaseback on the property, where it has been offering short-term residential treatment, and is expected to vacate at the end of March.

Soley said he expects to take occupancy at that time.

The property wasn’t widely advertised, Soley said.

“I heard about it from friends of friends,” he said. He approached Malone for a showing. “I looked at it and thought it would be perfect,” he said.

Soley said he came to the halfway house idea “by a fluke.” Through his company’s management office, he met Benjamin Skillings, who is the founder and president of Freedom House LLC, an organization that has seven Maine sites devoted to men’s sober housing.

“From an investment standpoint, I said, ‘This is what I want to do,’” Soley said.

Modeled after the Freedom House concept

Courtesy / Maine Realty Advisors
Opportunity Alliance's setup at 54 Maple St. in Portland for residential use fits well with its new use.

The residence will be named Chamberlain House, and Soley said he expects to fill the 16 rooms within a month of opening.

Skillings said Chamberlain House will be modeled on the Freedom House setup.

“We’ll be working with local social service agencies and the city of Portland to identify men who have been using the shelter system the longest and unable to secure housing,” Skillings said.

Freedom House has seven locations, three in Portland, two in South Portland, and one each in Westbrook and Falmouth. They house 90 people.

Skillings came to the endeavor through his own experience. About seven years ago, he became sober and engaged in Oxford House, a transitional sober housing organization, after spending time in and out of jail and being homeless for a period of time.

He became president of Oxford House’s Maine chapter and oversaw the opening of several new houses. He subsequently started Freedom House, which provides “safe, accountability-focused, and affordable sober housing to adults struggling with addiction and alcoholism,” according to its website.

Rents of $500 per month help finance operations, he said.

Skillings said he met Soley several years ago.

When Soley was looking at 54 Maple St., “We had a pretty quick conversation around its potential and took a walk through the building. It was something he wanted to do. We’re more than happy to partner with him,” he said.

According to its website, Opportunity Alliance is the community action agency for Cumberland County. Through multiple integrated community based and clinical programs, it serves more than 20,000 people annually throughout Maine. Programming includes early childhood education, family and community supports, mental health services, crisis intervention and prevention, and information and referral.

Last October, Opportunity Alliance bought a 7,440-square-foot office building at 1085 Brighton Ave. in Portland.

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