Our Project

Making a change, one neighborhood at a time!

21 Randall Street

The Beginning

In the spring of 2020, the City of Portland Maine issued an RFP to develop affordable housing on a third of an acre of city owned land at 21 Randall Street in the East Deering neighborhood. The Greater Portland Community Land Trust submitted a winning proposal to build affordable homes for ownership by working families.

Portland is a desirable city to live in, as evidenced by its high median housing value of $451,100. This amount is significantly higher than the US average median value of $338,100 and reflects the strong real estate market in Portland. The house appreciation rate over the past year has been 17.35%, which is significantly higher than the US average of 8.27%. This demonstrates how quickly and significantly home values have increased in Portland recently. A goal of this project is to create homes that working families can own, with a mortgage instead of paying rent. Our Robinia Commons project will provide eight families in need, of housing, a home they can afford, close to where they work.

This is a Photo of 21 Randall Street , the future home of Robinia Commons

Robinia Commons

Our project will have a total of eight units- three 1-bedroom units, three 2-bedroom units and two 3-bedroom units, all within an attractive, energy efficient, two level complex, surrounded by landscaping and an open space for the residents use. These eight units will be sold at a price that working families can afford, providing them a home in a prime location near Back Cove, where they will have clo access to work, shopping, schools, and recreation.

This is what we project the units to look like

Next steps

Having a schematic plan, land, and the City’s preliminary approval for our design, we are now moving forward to raise money to build our eight homes. Because of an anticipated shortfall in funding from the City and State, we will need to raise a significant amount, over a third of the $3.2 million project cost, from foundation grants, local businesses, and individual donors. This is where you can play a part in helping solve the housing crisis in your community. Please go to make at our donation page.