WNC & Associates is teaming up with Avesta Housing and Reveler Development to develop 89 Elm Apartments, an $87.8 million, 201-unit affordable housing community located in downtown Portland, Maine. The property is expected to finish construction in in 2027.
It is the fourth community for WNC in Portland. Last month, the company and the Portland Housing Authority began a $117.1 million redevelopment project in Portland that will create or renovate a total of 182 units upon completion in the same year.
89 Elm will have a mix of 39 studios, 141 one-bedroom apartments and 21 two-bedroom units, all located within a six- to eight-story elevator-served building. The units will have modern finishes and energy-efficient appliances including a refrigerator, dishwasher and electric range. Other features will include composite plank flooring, window blinds and secure storage options.
Community amenities will include a fitness center, community room, kitchenette, common patio and lounge spaces, bike storage and lockers, laundry facilities and common area Wi-Fi. The property will have on-site management, controlled-access entry and security cameras.
As its name suggests, the new project is located at 89 Elm St., near restaurants, grocery stores, health services and public transit. The community will target households earning up to 60 percent of area median income in an area with a severe shortage of affordable homes.
LIHTC and other funding
89 Elm is being financed through a combination of public and private sources, including $35.5 million in equity from WNC through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. In addition to 4 percent LIHTC equity, the project will be financed with tax-exempt bonds proceeds. MaineHousing will provide a $54 million construction loan, which will be paid down to a permanent loan of $21.73 million. During construction, the same source will also issue a $23.72 million soft loan.
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Additional financing includes a $2.14 million Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund loan and a $1.04 million loan to the partnership from Avela Development comprised of Efficiency Maine funds.
Maine-based Avesta Housing is a regional nonprofit developer of affordable homes. The master developer on the project, Reveler Development, is a full-service real estate investment, development, construction and management company with offices in Portland and Wilmington, N.C.
More WNC projects
Last week, WNC and First Resource Development Cos. announced plans to break ground on Merrick Park, a $40 million, 62-unit affordable housing community in Springfield, Mass. The adaptive reuse project will transform two historical buildings which have been vacant for more than a decade. Merrick Park will have eight studio apartments, 43 one-bedroom units, 10 two-bedroom units and one three-bedroom apartments when it is completed in 2027.
In late July, a joint venture between WNC, MirKa Investments LLC and Mission Neighborhood Centers, Inc., began construction on El Camino Real, a $60.7 million, 110-unit affordable housing community in the Mira Costa neighborhood of Oceanside, Calif . It is scheduled for delivery in 2027. WNC will contribute $16.8 million in federal tax credit equity.
A month earlier, WNC and Commonwealth Development Corporation of America broke ground on The Collective on 13th, a $12 million, 40-unit affordable housing community in Charles City, Iowa. Slated for completion in 2026, the project is being financed from a construction and permanent loan from Legacy Bank, debt from the Iowa Finance Authority and LIHTC equity from WNC.
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