With growth often slowed by opposition, some of it NIMBYism, builders hope to head off resistance before it starts. As head of a company that builds affordable housing, Dana Totman knows what it’s like to face neighborhood opposition to a proposed development. Totman, president and CEO of Portland-based Avesta Housing, said a 2014 effort to

PORTLAND — Dawn Wade said she loves the practical element at her new home in Huston Commons. “There is no more hurry up and wait, no line for the toilet, showers or lockers,” she said May 4. Wade is one of 30 new residents at the 72 Bishop St. apartments built as a “housing first”

The Maine Real Estate and Development Association, the state’s leading organization for commercial real estate, has selected the top 10 real estate developments from 2016. It will present the awards at its annual spring conference, which will be May 18 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in South Portland. The projects selected “exemplify best practices in

  In Joe Meyers’ new apartment, he has a potted succulent on the windowsill. He has a bed with a blue bedspread. He has shelves stocked with oatmeal and canned vegetables. But his favorite part is the door. “I can close the door and be left alone,” Meyers said. “This is a life-changing type of

Avesta Housing plans to transform the historic Mildred M. Fox School in Paris into a 12-unit low-income senior housing complex. Built in 1885, it was used as an elementary and high school, SAD 17 office space and then continued as the Oxford Hills Christian Academy until January 2016. The Advertiser Democrat reported that ground-breaking is

SOUTH PORTLAND — The floor tilts slightly to one side, and folding banquet tables serve as office desks. There’s a coffee pot, informational pamphlets, photos of children, artwork, crafts and food. A small room at the front of the structure contains a book swap and a children’s clothing exchange. The old trailer that houses the

As is often the case with worthy ventures, Healthy Homeworks was not planned, but emerged spontaneously. In January 2016, Amy Smith of Portland was interested in investing in affordable housing in downtown Lewiston. The research process acquainted her with “a tough situation.” Smith, who manages intown properties part-time, and her husband, Nathan, worked through a

Portland is on the map, nationally and internationally, as a great place to live, says Vitalius Real Estate Group principal Brit Vitalius. That’s resulted in the new-housing boom but also tightens up residential availability nearly to the vanishing point. New units are selling quickly. Existing units that become available, whether for sale or rent, typically

Maine Medical Center and Preble Street have joined forces to ensure the most vulnerable underserved people in Portland have access to quality, barrier-free health care. The MMC-Preble Street Learning Collaborative seeks to help fill the void left by the closing of the City of Portland Healthcare for the Homeless Clinic in 2014, provide no-barrier access

Last fall, I had to take the car keys away from an elderly relative who lives alone. This intervention should have happened much earlier, but when the day came it was one of the more emotionally wrenching things I’ve ever done. “Don’t take my car away,” he pleaded. “Without my car I don’t have a