Portland’s intent to build affordable housing in Nason’s Corner is facing pushback from neighbors before a plan has even been drawn up.

Officials are eyeing city-owned 1125 Brighton Ave. as a possible location for a housing development that could help meet Portland’s desperate need for affordable housing. An ideal plan for the site, according to the city, would reserve at least half of the units for people who’ve experienced homelessness or who are recommended by the city’s social services division.

The nearly 15-acre property is home to the Barron Center, a city-operated long-term care facility near the Westbrook town line and The Loring House, a privately operated affordable housing complex for seniors.

The Housing and Economic Development Committee on Tuesday put off approving a request for proposals to the Portland City Council. The committee voted unanimously to revisit the proposal at its Nov. 19 meeting and requested that, in the meantime, officials redraft the proposal with a lower required percentage of affordable housing than the previously mandated 50%.

‘WE DON’T WANT IT’ 

The city hasn’t yet approved the call-out to developers, but even the possibility of such a project is drawing ire from neighbors.

Derryen Plante, who lives in the area, told committee members in an email that putting “what equates to a homeless shelter in a residential neighborhood” will put the community, especially local children, at risk.

The site was floated as a possible emergency shelter in 2018, but the plan was scuttled by community opposition.

Then, a few months later in late 2019, it was eyed as an Avesta Housing facility for chronically homeless seniors. The plan was ultimately abandoned because of the pandemic.

“Not then, not now, not ever,” Plante said in her written comments.

She vowed that the neighborhood – a coalition of doctors, lawyers and parents – “will fight you every step of the way.”

“We will find and extort every legal loophole, protest every City Counsel (sic) meeting, and stop at nothing to see this proposal doesn’t go a step further,” she wrote. “Think hard if you want to expend your resources on a project that will never be allowed to happen.”

Plante also spoke during the evening meeting, reiterating her concerns to the committee and arguing that the development would undermine local safety.

“I just want to clarify that we are not a low-income housing neighborhood,” Plante said during the meeting.

Barbara Weed expressed similar sentiments: “Don’t, just don’t,” she wrote to the committee.

“I am sick of paying for things that make Portland less desirable to live in, and crappy congregate housing is one of those things,” she said. “We don’t want it.”

Other residents echoed concerns about impacts to neighborhood safety and argued that any development would be too close to existing residences.

A handful of housing advocates praised the overall plan during the comment period, but some argued that the proposal should include fewer restrictions on eligibility.

Annika Moore, advocacy team leader at Preble Street, said the proposal should be expanded “to include anyone staying at an emergency shelter in Portland or anyone experiencing unsheltered homelessness.”

“By expanding beyond just people staying at the Homeless Service Center, we can better meet all homeless peoples’ needs in our city,” she said.

HOUSING FIRST

Greg Watson, Portland’s director of housing and community development, stopped short of saying the city is seeking a “Housing First” project, but said it could meet the requirements.

The Housing First model is designed to prevent chronic homelessness by providing permanent, stable housing opportunities with on-site support services, and without sobriety and other requirements that keep some people out of homeless shelters.

The state has money set aside to help fund Housing First projects, so the request is written in a way that would allow developers to capitalize on that.

“If the city is going to make public land available to lease, we want to have some say in what the future use it, so we’re framing it that it needs to be affordable,” Watson said, “so it’s certainly a possibility.”

The city took a similar approach with the approval of a tax increment financing district to help fund the construction of an affordable housing project on Munjoy Hill, Watson said. The project at 42 Atlantic St. reserves three units for people exiting homelessness and three for people who have recently escaped domestic violence.

“This is (part of) a bigger commitment to wanting to see people be able to find a place coming out of this city’s shelter system,” he said.

However, after facing so much opposition in the past, the city will give the most weight to proposals that include an extensive community engagement plan and that prioritize the safety and well-being of Barron Center residents, as well as other vulnerable residents in Nason’s Corner, including those at the Loring House and Portland Housing Authority’s Sagamore Village.

The approach needs to be “caring, measured and thoughtful,” Watson said.

Watson said there has already been some interest in the site. Any development would be built and managed by a third party, while the city would maintain ownership of the land.

A PROJECT FOR THE ‘MISSION-DRIVEN’ 

There are few city-owned properties well-suited to dense development, Watson said, so the Brighton Avenue site presents a unique opportunity to encourage more affordable housing in a challenging development landscape.

Many area developers have said that the cost of land, materials and labor, coupled with a cumbersome permitting process, makes building even the minimum number of affordable units required by inclusionary zoning impossible.

Watson hopes that when the RFP is issued it will attract the right “mission-driven” developers.

“The fact that the city owns the land gives us some discretion to help offset what are typically high costs to acquire land in the city,” he said. “And we get to have an in-kind contribution to the future of these projects in exchange for what we presume will be a benefit – we’re looking for them to help solve ongoing challenges that the city faces.” 

As it is, the property is not currently zoned for the kind of density the city is seeking, though Watson said that is likely to change with the ongoing ReCode process to overhaul the current zoning regulations. If not, they may consider rezoning that area, as it’s well-suited for additional development.

“The need for housing is so ingrained in people’s understanding right now that it’s hard to walk away from these opportunities,” Watson said. “I can’t imagine that we’re not going to do something.”

Staff Writer Daniel Kool contributed to this report.