The MaineDOT Strategic Transportation Improvement Program plan is available for public comment here if you're interested. Bridge repairs are a big part of it.
TC_zoid
Senior Member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2014
- Messages
- 1,080
- Reaction score
- 1,519
Partnerships, business acumen, and creativity. If you build a 1,000 unit complex, and rents are an average of let's say, $1,000 each, that is a monthly gross revenue of $1 mill per month, or $12 mill per year. The vast majority of these new occupants will need a job or a better one. Create a partnership with a company that will build and adjoin the complex (of which will have a quasi-town center with fun amenities) and they can hire these occupants as they will not have to commute. In fact, they won't even have to go outside in the cold if it's all connected. No commuting headaches saves time and time is money, right? This new labor pool is incentive for the company to locate here which can also invest in the initial housing build. Maine needs workers. Companies here have problems finding workers. It's only going to get worse unless many new residents are welcomed into the state. Maine's birth rate is I think, 1.6? A 2.2 number is needed to sustain a population. There are other kinds of partnerships that can be done to help with the lessening of the initial build cost. USM did a partnership with a company for its new energy efficient dorms (Passivhaus). Otherwise, it never would have happened, or if so, something would have been built with inferior design and materials (like those awful round towers in Gorham). It's now a revenue model for a business and will be separately managed from the school. Government entities are good at taxing and spending. They aren't good with profit models. Usually, it's a disaster if they do. Don't get us started. Lol.
If building housing were as easy as spouting worn-out Reaganite cliches, everyone would be doing it.
We've seen construction costs more than double in two years, interest rates are up, and financing is limited. You talk about building a 1,000-unit complex and taking in $12 million a year. Sounds great! One small problem, though: average construction costs for new apartments are now pushing $320K per unit, so your project is gonna cost at least $320 million, not counting land costs. Let's just ignore all the maintenance and management fees and taxes you'd need to pay on this property every year, even though those are going to be a lot, because this straw man is already done for. At a modest 5% discount rate, your 30-year net present value on this $320 million investment, taking in $12 million in annual revenue, is going to be *negative* $136 million. No bank, private company, or equity investor in their right mind would want anything to do with this project unless they're deliberately looking to torch nine figures' worth of cash.
As far as partnering with a company, it's illegal for a public housing authority to build company housing. As people keep on telling you, public housing requires public funding. If you want more housing, call your state rep and ask for more of those investments.
Cosakita18
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2016
- Messages
- 958
- Reaction score
- 1,858
Speaking more on the land use / built environment side of things....There's a growing body of evidence to show that highrise buildings really aren't the best way for Public Housing authorities to get the most "bang for their buck"
It's worth bearing in mind that highrise buildings are a lot more expensive to build and, critically, MAINTAIN than lowrise blocks. Public Housing Authorities all over the country built huge numbers of Franklin Towers-esque highrises with Federal Money in the urban renewal era that many have since been unable to effectively maintain with their own limited budget resources. Not does quality-of-life for tenants in these buildings deteriorate as maintenance backlogs increase but it also limits the authorities ability to build new housing.
For a public housing authority with limited resources, it's more cost effective in the long run to focus on building medium-density projects with a mixture of housing typologies.
On top of that, there's also a growing body of sociological research showing that medium-density public housing projects create better quality of life for tenants (Especially for families and children) and provide more opportunities for community development and social / economic mobility. Public housing authorities aren't just responsible for overseeing housing...they're often directly involved in meeting the social and economic needs of their tenants who are often part of vulnerable populations with unique support needs,
Also, for public housing authorities, it's not just a matter of building new housing...they also need to make sure they have the administrative capacity to MANAGE those new units. It's not like market rate housing where filling 500 new units is just a matter of posting on Zillow. There's a lot of bureaucracy behind the scenes
It's worth bearing in mind that highrise buildings are a lot more expensive to build and, critically, MAINTAIN than lowrise blocks. Public Housing Authorities all over the country built huge numbers of Franklin Towers-esque highrises with Federal Money in the urban renewal era that many have since been unable to effectively maintain with their own limited budget resources. Not does quality-of-life for tenants in these buildings deteriorate as maintenance backlogs increase but it also limits the authorities ability to build new housing.
For a public housing authority with limited resources, it's more cost effective in the long run to focus on building medium-density projects with a mixture of housing typologies.
On top of that, there's also a growing body of sociological research showing that medium-density public housing projects create better quality of life for tenants (Especially for families and children) and provide more opportunities for community development and social / economic mobility. Public housing authorities aren't just responsible for overseeing housing...they're often directly involved in meeting the social and economic needs of their tenants who are often part of vulnerable populations with unique support needs,
Also, for public housing authorities, it's not just a matter of building new housing...they also need to make sure they have the administrative capacity to MANAGE those new units. It's not like market rate housing where filling 500 new units is just a matter of posting on Zillow. There's a lot of bureaucracy behind the scenes
Last edited:
TC_zoid
Senior Member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2014
- Messages
- 1,080
- Reaction score
- 1,519
It's not company housing. It's how you structure the entity. Anyone in this housing can work anywhere. If good jobs are available here, people will take them over others as buying and maintaining a car is a big financial drain. Simply saying it can't be done results in nothing being done. This model worked for a housing project in lower Manhattan a while back and it was featured on 60 Minutes. A young woman wanted to do something about homelessness in this area and found several companies to form a partnership to invest in a building renovation for the homeless. They were given tax breaks. A bakery was then put into the first floor for the occupants to work at. As you probably read in yesterday's PPH, Portland's new homeless center filled up to capacity on day 1. This is a big problem for the city. It's not going away. Think out of the box or the box will result in not just more homelessness, but more crime. If you build a big housing project and there are challenges to finding a job, many will not work and this results in rampant drug use and crime (the typical public housing model). A large housing project in which people are working and forming a community can create a positive and healthy family environment. When the Kaplan Thompson 4 story green passivhaus building was built a while back (bordering Franklin Arterial), the Director of the PHA spoke and said they had a waiting list of 17,000 people (of which many were teetering on homelessness). He seemed visibly embarrassed and ambivalent about the build. It was 40 units and the last project they had done was Franklin Towers, over 40 years ago. Finally, they are doing something? Creating community is key here. The current models are not working, or well enough. You have to constantly keep ahead of the bigger problem or it will bite you in the a**.
Last edited:
Portland needs a break from the tidal wave of asylum seekers....the city cannot house all of these people plain and simple. I am a "liberal"....this statement is not politically motivated. I am a bit of a rube when it comes to this situation.....who exactly is sending them here with no facilities or money to house them?
I agree that housing for low income residents should not be "high rise".....there are decades of failures littered across the U.S. They turn into high rise slums. That being said...they need to be dense due to lack of land....but well thought out so they are livable and foster social networks with neighbors.
I agree that housing for low income residents should not be "high rise".....there are decades of failures littered across the U.S. They turn into high rise slums. That being said...they need to be dense due to lack of land....but well thought out so they are livable and foster social networks with neighbors.
TC_zoid
Senior Member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2014
- Messages
- 1,080
- Reaction score
- 1,519
Public housing primarily fails because too many of the occupants are not busy (good schools and jobs). It's then truancy for youth, apathy for the adults, and then illegal (and legal) drugs for everyone. Government has to be taken out of the vision and management of housing. It took the PHA over 48 years to build 40 units of housing in Portland (from 1969 to 2017). And challenge and/or pressure them to cut red tape. And that $320,000 to build per unit cost, is there a bulk discount for 1,000? And, this is key, when Gov wants to build something and they ask for a price, guess what? Yes, ridiculously high. Kaplan Thompson built the beautiful and efficient private Friends School in Yarmouth for $4 million. When the city wants to build a school it can reach to or exceed $50 million. My work involves partnerships and leveraging (creativity). I'm constantly amazed at how much extra value we get from it. Over 1,000 workers happy in their homes and community available for work next door is an incredible asset to not be taken lightly. Another way to create value is to place the entire thing on a cement slab with geothermal heating (the addition to the Jetport has this). That way, you build the occupancy structures in a kind of circle and connect it all with a large middle space covered with a translucent roof. And then put in little shops, etc., that pay rent. I could list ten more ways to create revenue on this, but I won't.
Here's the border encounters per month. See when the latest surge started? It's a lot worse for many other cities, particularly closer to the border, but if you incentivize them to come to Portland (and other spots in New England) then they will come.
I used to be a liberal myself and fully understand feeling compassion for their situations. However, compassion without limits is unsustainable. If 100 people are drowning and all you have is a lifeboat that can hold 30, you can either save (up to) 30 people, or have everybody drown when the boat itself sinks. In that analogy, the US is the lifeboat nearing capacity, and ~27 out of the 30 person limit are American citizens. We can't save the rest of the world without simultaneously sinking ourselves.
Since my early 30's I have morphed from an idealistic viewpoint to a realistic viewpoint that is just slightly tinged by my younger idealism. Idealism in practice just never really turns out the way that is promised in theory. If everybody who wanted to come here was allowed in starting tomorrow, we'd add a billion people in a year.
U.S. Immigrant Population and Share over Time, 1850-Present
This chart displays both the number of immigrants residing in the United States and their share of the total U.S. population over time.
The total numbers are bigger but the percentage is lower. Unless one is Native American, one is an immigrant.
just saying!
stick n move
Superstar
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2009
- Messages
- 10,375
- Reaction score
- 11,694
Portland Front Street Phase Two Affordable Housing
“Utile is working with the Portland Housing Authority (PHA) on the second phase of their redevelopment of its Front Street Development, which will provide 45 units of affordable senior housing near the Back Cove neighborhood of Portland. The project is designed with adaptable and universal design considerations for residents to stay within the community as their needs change. Amenities include a community room to host resident’s events and PHA programs, a third floor lounge offering views of Portland and Back Cove, laundry, dedicated electric vehicle charging stations, and an outdoor covered patio.
Designed to the PHIUS+ 2021 Passive House Standard, the project combines airtight, well-insulated envelope assemblies with high efficiency mechanical systems and a rooftop photo-voltaic array to maximize energy operation, and resident comfort. This project is part of a larger redevelopment of PHA’s Front Street Development to provide 113 units of affordable housing in total.”
https://www.utiledesign.com/work/portland-front-street-phase-two-affordable-housing/
“Utile is working with the Portland Housing Authority (PHA) on the second phase of their redevelopment of its Front Street Development, which will provide 45 units of affordable senior housing near the Back Cove neighborhood of Portland. The project is designed with adaptable and universal design considerations for residents to stay within the community as their needs change. Amenities include a community room to host resident’s events and PHA programs, a third floor lounge offering views of Portland and Back Cove, laundry, dedicated electric vehicle charging stations, and an outdoor covered patio.
Designed to the PHIUS+ 2021 Passive House Standard, the project combines airtight, well-insulated envelope assemblies with high efficiency mechanical systems and a rooftop photo-voltaic array to maximize energy operation, and resident comfort. This project is part of a larger redevelopment of PHA’s Front Street Development to provide 113 units of affordable housing in total.”
https://www.utiledesign.com/work/portland-front-street-phase-two-affordable-housing/
But at least it's not one big monochromatic box.
I don't think these updates have been posted elsewhere on this forum? Most of the new renderings look very similar, but one does have a view of the 5 story building and the whole development is now 125 units. Here's the list of alterations from Kaplan Thompson: