POAH Closes on Financing to Build 72-unit Affordable Lambert Woods North Apartments in Maine
By News via YieldPro
Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) a national nonprofit affordable housing developer, announced it has closed on the construction financing for Lambert Woods North, a 72-unit apartment complex in Portland, Maine that will provide critically needed affordable family housing in a growing high-cost market.
This is POAH’s first development in the state of Maine. The future Lambert Woods North is located in Portland’s North Deering neighborhood on wooded land acquired from the city. POAH is the lead developer and is collaborating with local partner Maine Cooperative Development Partners (MCDP) which secured the site through an RFP process issued by the city in early 2021.
The development’s six buildings are designed to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready standard and will be sited to maximizes open space and tree coverage while providing optimal exposure for solar energy arrays. The development will feature a mix of 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom rental apartment homes reserved for households earning 60% of Area Median Income (AMI) and seven units will be reserved for referrals from the City’s homeless shelter. The project will also improve the right of way along a busy travel corridor and will incorporate a new city bus stop.
“POAH is pleased to begin its first affordable housing development in the state of Maine, which has seen housing prices rise dramatically, making Portland in particular, less affordable for families,” said POAH President/CEO Aaron Gornstein. The City of Portland and MaineHousing are responding proactively, and we look forward to a strong partnership that will serve residents with much needed housing.”