Bayside Anchor Brings New Support to Portland Neighborhood

Even while keeping development costs low, the Maine project is ambitious with housing, a Head Start program.

2 MIN READ

Bayside Anchor Apartments is aptly named, bringing new stability to its Portland, Maine, neighborhood.

The 45-unit development delivers needed housing opportunities to the poorest census tract in the state and serves as the social hub for the area with large community spaces, a Head Start preschool program, and community policing offices on the ground floor.

“It’s a community resource center as well as mixed-income housing,” says Jay Waterman, development director at the Portland Housing Authority (PHA), which partnered with Avesta Housing to create the property.

The development began as a winner in a 2013 national competition by Enterprise Community Partners and Deutsche Bank that sought ways to lower development costs. Utilizing cost-effective design and construction methods, Bayside Anchor was built at a low cost of about $158 per square foot and $170,000 total development cost per unit, according to developers.

There wasn’t one step to reducing costs. Instead, it was more like 100 steps, ranging from having a polished concrete slab on the first floor to furnishing units with open kitchen cabinets without doors.

Even with a goal of containing costs, the project is loaded with ambition. Bayside Anchor is built to Passive House standards to be extremely energy efficient. The super-insulated building envelope uses a double-wall construction. Panelized outer walls were manufactured off-site while interior walls were built on-site. The project is expected to reduce heating costs by 90%.

The development, which is near public transit lines, is also unique in that it does not have any on-site parking. Instead, residents can park in nearby lots owned by PHA.

Located in a gentrifying neighborhood, Bayside Anchor delivers a mix of studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments targeted at residents who earn 40%, 50%, and 60% of the area median income. To serve the lowest-income and formerly homeless individuals, there are nine project-based vouchers. The property also has nine market-rate apartments.

The $7.8 million development is financed with low-income housing and renewable energy tax credits purchased by Boston Capital. MaineHousing and the city also provided HOME funds.

PROJECT DETAILS

Developers: Portland Housing Authority and Avesta Housing
Architect: Kaplan Thompson Architects
Major Funders: Boston Capital; MaineHousing; Bangor Savings Bank; city of Portland

About the Author

Donna Kimura

Donna Kimura is deputy editor of Affordable Housing Finance. She has covered the industry for more than 20 years. Before that, she worked at an Internet company and several daily newspapers. Connect with Donna at [email protected] or follow her @DKimura_AHF.