Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston has earmarked $23.5 million for the development or preservation of 456 units of rental housing in Maine, it said this week. The funding will go toward Augusta, Bath, Biddeford, Kennebunk, Kittery, Lewiston, Portland, Scarborough and South Portland. The grants and loans will be used to help pay construction, acquisition or
A new program offered by Avesta Housing’s HomeOwnership Center received a $50,000 donation from Bangor Savings Bank, designated to help people with moderate incomes purchase their first homes and achieve housing stability. Avesta’s program, A Path Forward: Homeownership for ME, aims to create a pathway to homeownership for Maine residents who have been priced out
The three-bedroom, one-bath condominium on Collyer Brook Road in Gray is a bit of a fixer-upper. The driveway is crumbling, with large chunks of pavement missing entirely. The front steps are rotted, the privacy fence in the backyard is toppled and until a few weeks ago, there was mold and water damage in the basement.
Tackling the affordable housing shortage requires a myriad of creative solutions. Building new affordable homes is essential, but multi-family developments can take years to complete. Meanwhile, thousands of houses in Maine sit vacant due to abandonment, foreclosure, or other reasons. A new program administered by the Avesta Housing Homeownership + Financial Counseling department is an
U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) with Avesta Housing senior leadership staff at Porter Station in Portland, Maine, on Nov. 1. L-R: President & CEO Rebecca Hatfield, Resident Services Manager Nick Kjeldgaard, Sen. Angus King, Director of Real Estate Development Patrick Hess, HomeOwnership Center Director Nicole DiGeronimo, Senior Vice President of Finance & Administration Eric Boucher
Housing advocates in Maine said they’ll seek a dedicated, consistent stream of funding for new development initiatives next year, in the face of potential changes that could come with the new Trump administration. Developers have relied on variety of sources, including federal tax credits, to subsidize the building of income-restricted homes in Maine. State lawmakers
(L-R): Bangor Savings Bank Vice President & Community Relations Manager Gavin Robinson, Avesta Housing HomeOwnership Center Senior Financial Counselor Madisen Corcoran, Avesta Housing Vice President of Advancement Sara Olson, Avesta Housing Corporate & Major Gifts Officer Zoë Alexis Scott, Bangor Savings Bank Senior Vice President & Team Lead of Southern Maine Commercial Lending Diane Donaldson,
Helen Burns is a resident of Thomas Heights, an Avesta Housing affordable housing development in Portland. She volunteers to teach free sewing classes at The Root Cellar, a Portland-based nonprofit. Helen’s mother was a seamstress who taught her four daughters to make their own clothes “out of necessity” — skills that Helen now passes on
Deedee Garcia organizes the food pantry at Woodsedge, an Avesta community for older adults and people with disabilities in Alfred, Maine. It began when she visited the food pantry in town once or twice a month to pick up a box of groceries for herself and donated $10 to $20 for a second box, which
Jan Troisi, left, and Sylvia Archer display their scarecrow at The Common in Hampton Falls, N.H. Sylvia Archer and Jan Troisi are residents of The Meadows, an Avesta Housing development for older adults in Hampton Falls, N.H. They give back to the community as volunteer members of the Town of Hampton Falls Recreation Commission, a
