🔒Portland Housing Authority plans 173 apartments in East Bayside
Portland Housing Authority is redeveloping a 1.53-acre lot in East Bayside for three new apartment buildings. RENDERING / COURTESY RYAN SENATORE ARCHITECTS
Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood will be gaining a total of 173 affordable apartments over the next two years, with the redevelopment of the Comb Block.
Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood will gain a total of 173 affordable apartments over the next two years with the redevelopment of the Comb Block, which occupies 1.53 acres between Oxford, Mayo and Boyd streets.
The site had been home to four buildings containing 40 low-income housing units, which Portland Housing Authority is razing to make way for the new apartments.
Project manager Sarah Tatarczuk told Mainebiz that those buildings dated to 1972 and were in very poor condition. In 2023, tenants were relocated to other PHA properties.
Buildings on the property known as the Comb Block, between Boyd and Mayo streets in Portland, are being cleared to make way for three new affordable apartment buildings. PHOTO / TINA FISCHER
The project will be developed in three phases.
Starting this summer, construction will start on 55 apartments for low-income households. Units will range from one-bedroom to three-bedroom to accommodate families, and 11 apartments will be accessible for residents with physical disabilities.
Phase two will introduce a seven-story, 91-unit building for older adults, on the corner of Cumberland and Boyd streets. The building will serve a diverse income population, from low-income households to market-rate renters. Tatarczuk said PHA expects to break ground on that building in the first half of 2027.
Phase three will add 27 apartments in a lower density setting along Mayo Street, all of which will be affordable to low and very low-income families, with sizes ranging from two to three bedrooms, and 20% of the apartments will be set aside for special needs residents.
All three buildings will have laundry facilities, bike storage and a community room. Green space is planned for a shared space between the buildings.
A courtyard is planned for the land in between the new apartment buildings. RENDERING / COURTESY DRY LANDSCAPING
PHA has no plans for on-site parking beyond a handful of handicapped spots. Tatarczuk noted the project’s location, near Franklin Street, is close to several Metro bus stops and within a short walk to jobs, groceries and other services.
Portland-based DEW Construction will be the contractor. Rounding out the team will be two more Portland firms, Ryan Senatore Architects and Acorn Engineering, along with Cumberland-based Sevee & Maher Engineers Inc. and Biddeford-based Dry Landscape Architecture.
The first two buildings have already received tax credits through MaineHousing, and PHA is applying under the same program for phase three.
Cost of the project through the first phase, including demolition and soil remediation across the property, is just over $30 million.
Construction costs for the final two phases are still being determined.
