A rendering of the 325-unit apartment building on Washington Avenue approved by the Portland Planning Board on Tuesday. The building includes 82 workforce units. Image courtesy of Redfern Properties

The Portland Planning Board approved two projects Tuesday that together will add nearly 600 units of sorely needed housing to the city’s stock. Parking, however, is a different story.

A seven-story project in the East End promises to add 325 apartments, including 82 workforce housing units. The trade-off? There will only be 11 parking spaces.

On the other end of the spectrum, a six-story building planned for Thompson’s Point will add 255 market-rate apartments and just shy of 500 parking spots.

Both projects received unanimous approval from the six board members present.

Jonathan Culley, managing partner of Redfern Properties, said the project at 165 Washington Ave. would be one of the largest in the city and would help meet the “massive need” for workforce housing.

The project, located at the former Northern Burner Supply site, would include studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments above a retail space, likely a cafe or market. Of the 325 units, 82 are intended to be deed-restricted for “workforce housing,” meaning they’re affordable for people making below 80% of the area’s median income. The city considers the area median income to be $89,250 for a single person.

The rest would be priced for people making 80% to 100% of the area’s median income, with rents between $1,700 and $2,250 for a one-bedroom.

Culley said previously that the intent is for the apartments to be the lowest market-rate offerings in the city, and that while only about 80 are designated workforce units, he wants them to be affordable for the influx of graduate students attending Northeastern University’s Roux Institute.

Culley named the building Tavata, after the Finnish word for “to come together.”

“It’s really sort of aspirational for what we see this community becoming,” he said.

At a public hearing Tuesday, some residents expressed concern about the lack of parking in what’s already a congested area, with one woman calling the plan “absurd.”

Culley, however, believes that putting housing near public transit is an important first step in a more climate-friendly future. If it’s accessible, people will use it.

“We appreciate that it’s going to be inconvenient for some in the neighborhood, but we think this is the right thing to do on the path of a more sustainable future,” he said.

The site of the approved housing development at Thompson’s Point in Portland. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

It’s also a gamble from a business perspective, Culley added. If people don’t want to rent in a building with such limited parking, they’ll look elsewhere.

The minimal parking is also a cost-saving strategy for the project. So far, it’s been challenging to make it “pencil,” or make financial sense, particularly with high interest rates and the threat of rising building costs from tariffs.

Culley knew ahead of time that interest rates, plus the city’s inclusionary zoning requirements that require 25% of units be priced as either “workforce” or “affordable” housing, could make the project more expensive, but “we certainly didn’t expect tariffs,” he said.

Despite the challenges of economic viability, Culley said the team planned to keep pushing forward.

An apartment complex planned for Thompson’s Point in Portland would include over 500 parking spots that could be used by others visiting the area. Rendering by EMBARC Inc.

The Residences at Thompson’s Point, meanwhile, will add 255 apartments in what developers have promised will be a “transformative” project for the former trainyard.

The six-story building at 125 Thompson’s Point Road will include fitness facilities, a pool and outdoor space overlooking the Fore River. It will also feature an attached 463-car garage that while primarily for tenants, will also be accessible “for other Thompson’s Point campus uses,” developer Chris Thompson said. The developers will also add 35 surface-level spaces.

The residential project is exempt from the city’s inclusionary zoning ordinance, which was approved in 2015.

The proposed development is part of a larger Thompson’s Point master development plan approved in 2012, meaning that whatever regulations were in place 13 years ago remain in place for the duration of the project, as long as the approval remains valid and the construction is ongoing.

Thompson said Wednesday that he was “delighted” by the planning board approval and excited to be moving forward with the project.

He agreed with Culley’s assessment that “the current conditions for financing and construction for multifamily remain challenging” but said the current plan is to proceed as scheduled.