The former Mercy Hospital campus in Portland’s West End is being developed into 165 rental apartments and ground floor commercial spaces.
NewHeight Redfern, a joint development venture, bought the campus from Northern Light in 2020. Jonathan Culley, Redfern co-founder, said two additional lots are being developed into affordable workforce and senior housing by Community Housing of Maine.
“As part of the project we did sell two parcels to Community Housing of Maine, which is a nonprofit that is building low-income housing, affordable housing for people making 50 percent and 60 percent of area median income. That was our commitment to community and economic diversity in the neighborhood,” he said.
Culley said 10 percent of the apartments in the State Street building now named Nightingale, in honor of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, will be affordable workforce housing as well.
Erin Cooperrider, principal of the NewHeight Group development firm, said creating housing for Portland workers was a priority.
“I think our goal in redevelopment of this campus was to increase housing stock in Portland. The biggest benefit is more homes in walking distance of downtown and jobs, so creating opportunities for folks to live downtown without having cars,” Cooperrider said.
Community Housing of Maine partnered with the NewHeight group to develop about a hundred units of affordable housing for working families and seniors on property nearby on Winter Street. Those units will be ready for occupancy in 2025.
State and federal historic tax credits, private equity and a construction loan are financing the $65 million Nightingale redevelopment. Additional funds are also coming from The Genesis Fund, CEI Inc. and Mercy Community Capital.
The project is expected to be completed by January 2024.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
