Porter Station
“Places like Porter Station are so important for families like ours, because it’s getting to the point where rents are so high, no one can afford to live here anymore. People who are on limited incomes like myself face very few choices when it comes to housing, and when we have children to take care of, it’s very difficult to pay for food, clothing, and health care when most of our money is going to pay the rent. We need more places like Porter Station.” – Joseph, retired veteran and truck driver who lives at Porter Station with his granddaughter, whom he is raising
Description
Located in the historic St. John Valley neighborhood of Portland, Porter Station is a five-story building that provides 60 new affordable homes near downtown Portland and its dynamic mix of health care, arts, education, retail, finance, and other businesses. Apartments range from efficiencies to three-bedroom units, and residents enjoy a community room, bicycle storage, on-site laundry facilities, and a covered parking garage. The development’s broad income targets and support from City and State partners allow Avesta to reach deeper affordability levels and provide homes to many downtown workers who would otherwise not have an opportunity to live near their place of employment. The building utilizes the latest in sustainable design and construction to decrease the building’s carbon footprint and maximize energy efficiency while lowering utility costs and improving indoor air quality. The building was built to Passive House standards, a rigorous approach that predicts and measures a building’s energy performance, and exemplifies Smart Growth principles through its reuse of a dense, urban infill site close to public transit, jobs, services, and amenities. The parking area features dedicated electric vehicle charging stations. The rich history, affordable apartments, and sustainable design standards of Porter Station create a unique combination that will contribute to the area’s ongoing revitalization and benefit the St. John Valley neighborhood for decades to come.
How was this project a success and what impact will it have?
There has never been a greater need for housing, and Porter Stations provides 60 new homes in a prime location. Forty eight of those homes are affordable for people earning below 60% of the area median income; and 12 are renting at market rates. The rich neighborhood history, affordable apartments, PHIUS design standards, and Smart Growth principles create a unique combination that promises to benefit the St. John Valley neighborhood for decades to come and contribute to the area’s return to that of a vibrant community for people from all walks of life.
What challenges did you overcome in this project?
The development has one of the most complicated funding stacks of any Avesta Housing project with 14 different sources, including state and federal tax credits, state subsidy, local Housing Trust Funds and a TIF, rental subsidy, and other sources. Construction costs were extremely volatile because of COVID escalations, which required late-stage budget revisions and significant value engineering. Construction was also challenging, beginning with the demolition of a building containing hazardous materials and the cleanup of contaminated soil on site. The schedule was delayed by more than six months due to supply chain issues, and there were significant challenges to the budget at every step of the way. The extended construction delay required unique strategies to reduce loan interest and maintain project feasibility.
What was unique/special about this project?
Porter Station is steeped in history. Visitors to the St. John Valley neighborhood a century ago would have encountered a bustling community with Union Station, the main hub for rail travel and blue-collar employment, at its epicenter. From 1888 until the train station’s demolition in 1961, the area was home to a largely Black community, and many of the residents worked at the station or for the railroads. One well-known train porter and St. John Valley resident, Moses Green, was a former slave who founded a company that assisted Black residents with housing. Porter Station honors this legacy by providing housing stability and an inclusive community for people of all backgrounds.
What lessons did you learn doing this project?
Porter Station was one of the first buildings constructed in Maine using the new Maine State Low Income Housing Tax Credit. Because we changed our green energy goals during the design process, we had a unique opportunity to learn about and document specific costs associated with PHIUS construction, which continues to influence the conversation about green building design and requirements in Maine.