Re: “Maine Voices: Opportunities for affordable housing in Portland right under our nose” (Dec. 31):

To help ease the affordable housing shortage in Portland and Maine, consideration should also be given to modern, purpose-built, new-construction rooming houses as well as to apartment and single-family buildings.

More unsubsidized units could be built on a site than apartments. A modern rooming house features units with a single bed; a table; a chair; a refrigerator; a private bathroom, including a shower, and utilities and internet included.

A central kitchen on each floor, with food lockers, complements those tenants who cook. Units vary from 90 square feet to 160 square feet and cost $600 to $700 a month, with a $500 security deposit on a three-month lease becoming month to month thereafter.

Built close to a bus line, these units would appeal to young adults in service and retail jobs, transitory workers, newcomers, retirees, house hunters, etc. Developers would have more incentive to build affordable units by receiving a better return on their investment. These modern rooming houses are successfully being used in other parts of our country.

Peter Ferrante
Portland

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