Front Street West

83 Front Street

Front Street West in the Fall

Originally constructed in 1971, the Front Street community was initially conceived as temporary housing when hundreds of households were relocated during Portland’s Urban Renewal era. The original project was built on a former City dump, now cleaned up with local, State and Federal Brownfields funding. More than 50 years later it was acknowledged that the buildings were in very poor condition and needed demolition and redevelopment. Portland Housing Development Corporation (PHDC) redeveloped Front Street Phase 1 into 60 units of affordable housing in an array of four low-rise buildings along two blocks in the East Deering neighborhood next to Payson Park. In 2024, Portland Housing Authority finished the second phase of Front Street (Front Street West) which includes 45 rental units of affordable housing for those 55 years and better. Front Street West has thirty-nine 1-bedroom units and six 2-bedroom units.

East Deering is a desirable location in Portland and the architectural design integrates beautifully into the existing neighborhood. An east-west pedestrian corridor connects Phase 1 and Phase 2 with a community center and residential support spaces anchoring the center of the site. Both phases are extremely energy efficient and PHIUS+ Core certified through the Passive House Institute US. PHDC partnered with the City of Portland and Portland Trails to create an accessible stone dust pedestrian path directly across the street from Front Street West that connects the neighborhood to the recreational amenities at Payson Park.

Portland Housing would like to recognize the partners involved in this project, including Construction Manager Zachau Construction; the design team, which included Utile Architecture, Carroll Associates Landscape Architects, Petersen Engineering, Ransom Consulting, Thornton Tomasetti Structural, Sparhawk Group Commissioning, S.W. Cole Engineering, Owen Haskell Surveyors, Sevee Maher Associates Environmental Engineering; and owner representative Development Services of New England.

Financing for Front Street East included a combination of local, state and federal sources and private investment, including:

  • Maine State Housing Authority (Low Income Housing Tax Credit issuer)
  • City of Portland (Housing Trust Fund and Federal HOME funds)
  • RBC Capital Markets (LIHTC equity & Zero Energy Ready Home Credits)
  • Bath Savings - Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston Member (AHP funds)