Avesta Housing's News + Notes

Everyone deserves a place to call home.

A word from Dana

In 1972, two Maine community action agencies joined forces to form the York-Cumberland Housing Development Corp. With three employees and a shoestring budget, it set to work addressing affordable housing issues in York and Cumberland counties. The following year, it developed its first affordable housing property and created an affiliated management company.

This year, what is now Avesta Housing is celebrating its 50th anniversary. In the five decades since its founding, our organization has grown in both size and scope. We expanded into western New Hampshire and other parts of Maine, added assisted living communities, co-developed the first Housing First communities in the state for the persistently homeless, and expanded our services to include financial and homebuying counseling. In 2003, we changed our name to Avesta Housing and moved our headquarters from Gorham to Portland to reflect our growing geographic reach. Along the way, we joined the national NeighborWorks and Housing Partnership networks and helped create the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition.

Today, Avesta Housing has more than 100 properties with more than 3,000 apartments housing more than 4,000 people—with more housing being built every year. Nearly 300 employees work in five areas of affordable housing: advocacy, real estate development, property management, residential care and assisted living, and homeownership. Our organization, properties, and staff have garnered dozens of awards and honors for our work in the affordable housing sector.

We are proud of our history, and of what we have accomplished. However, our work is not finished! Far from it: the affordable housing crisis is greater than at any time in Avesta’s history. The challenges are great. The work ahead will not be easy.

But, as we have in the past, we will rise to the challenge. We shall persevere. We will continue to help ensure that residents in Maine and New Hampshire live in safe, quality, affordable homes.

Many things have changed over the past half-century. But one essential truth has not: Everyone deserves a place to call home.

Dana Totman, President & CEO

A look back at the first 50 years

Avesta Housing has grown from a tiny organization with three employees to one of the largest, most respected nonprofits in Maine. Here are some key moments in our history.

1972: The York-Cumberland Housing Development Corp. is formed to address affordable housing issues in the state.

1973: York-Cumberland Housing develops its first affordable housing property, 30 Birch Lane in Gorham.

1974: Property management is added.

1983: York-Cumberland Housing acts as a development consultant on its first New Hampshire project, Sonata Chocorua Woods in Chocorua.

1984: Ridgewood, a community for older adults, is developed in Gorham, and York-Cumberland Housing relocates its offices next door.

1990: York-Cumberland Housing develops its first property using Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC).

1997: York-Cumberland Housing takes ownership of its first residential care facility.

2000: York-Cumberland Housing works with diverse partners to form Southern Maine Affordable Rental Housing Coalition, which would later become Maine Affordable Housing Coalition (MAHC).

2000: Dana Totman is named president & CEO of York-Cumberland Housing.

2003: York-Cumberland Housing moves its headquarters from Gorham to Portland and changes its name to Avesta Housing to reflect the organization’s growing geographic reach.

2005: Avesta Housing partners with Preble Street to develop Logan Place, the first Housing First community in Portland, for adults who had been persistently homeless. This is followed by Florence House in 2010 and Huston Commons in 2017.

2012: Avesta NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Center (HOC) is formed.

2017: Avesta Housing partners with 75 State Street, an assisted living and independent living community for seniors in downtown Portland.

2021: Avesta Housing’s portfolio grows to 109 properties housing more than 4,600 residents.

What makes Avesta special?

Avesta Housing is more than just a nonprofit affordable housing developer. Our work begins long before a groundbreaking occurs and continues after residents move in. Here are just a few examples:

We support public policies that foster the creation and preservation of affordable homes. Our staff engages with leaders at the local, state, and federal levels, and serve on committees that identify the causes and conditions of housing insecurity and strategize solutions.

Affordable housing construction and rehabilitation are carefully researched and planned so that they best serve the needs of residents and surrounding communities. Cutting-edge sustainable housing practices are followed to minimize environmental impact and maximize energy efficiency.

Each property is assigned a team of highly trained property managers, resident service coordinators, and maintenance technicians to ensure that our residents live in safe, quality homes that meet their needs.

Avesta pursues partnerships and grants that enhance residents' success and experience, including after-school programs, caseworker support for vulnerable seniors and formerly unhoused people, and healthcare access for older adults living in rural areas.

We are a leader in providing housing for people who experience chronic homelessness. Avesta partnered with Preble Street, a Portland-based nonprofit, to develop three Housing First properties, and our Homeless to Housing program provides a support worker dedicated to helping the recently unhoused transition to community living.

Ensuring that older adults live in safe, quality homes is an important part of our mission. More than half of our properties house people ages 55 and older, and two of them, Inn at Village Square in Gorham and 75 State Street in Portland, provide assisted living with trained staff.

The Avesta HomeOwnership Center provides educational support and advocacy for people seeking to improve their financial situation, buy their first home, or help avoid eviction or foreclosure.

Avesta partners with Maine Public for 50th anniversary

As part of our 50th-anniversary celebration, Avesta Housing has partnered with Maine Public to spread the word about our mission and work on Maine Public Radio and Maine Public Television. Maine Public is underwriting the promotional campaign as part of its Maine Public News Connect program, which provides greater access to Maine news for immigrants and other audiences for whom English is a second language. Click below to view the first video in the series.

Avesta provides permanent housing to people living in hotels

During the past two years, the affordable housing crisis has risen to a critical level in Maine. Dozens of hotels have helped ease the burden on homeless shelters with funds from the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, but many of them have either stopped participating in the program or have announced they will no longer participate in the new year. This has left many people scrambling to find affordable housing in the middle of winter.

At West End Apartments, a new affordable housing community in South Portland, Avesta Housing recently housed six families and about half a dozen individuals who were living in hotels in Portland and South Portland. While most are new Mainers, they come from varied backgrounds. Some are U.S. citizens who were recruited out of state by Maine employers. Some are non-citizens who are in the process of establishing citizenship. Some are asylum seekers newly arrived from war-torn countries.

But they all had one thing in common: They were unable to find affordable housing. Now they are working together to make West End Apartments their new home.

“Everyone is helping each other get moved in and acclimated to the neighborhood,” said Nicholas Kjeldgaard, resident services manager with Avesta Housing.

Valquira Bento, 26, moved to Portland from Texas to work and pursue a degree in interior design. Unable to find an affordable place to live, she moved into the Comfort Inn in South Portland last February with the help of the city's General Assistance Program. Originally from Angola, she has applied for asylum status.

The weeks in the motel turned into months. Applications for housing were denied over and over again because the landlords didn’t accept tenants who received General Assistance. Then she heard about Avesta Housing. In November, Bento was approved for a one-bedroom apartment at West End. With only a mattress for furniture, she moved into her new home in December.

“I am so thankful and grateful,” Bento said. “Everyone with Avesta has been really helpful and professional.”

Admittedly, this has only scratched the surface of the need. Avesta received more than 200 applications for 50 available units at West End Apartments, and has a staggering number of more than 1,200 people on its interest list.

But we will work diligently on all fronts to help ensure that no one falls through the cracks. It’s what we have done for the past 50 years, and it’s what we will do as long as there is a need for safe, quality, affordable housing.

Dana Totman to give featured presentation at Chamber event

Avesta Housing President & CEO Dana Totman will present “A Conversation in Affordable Housing” at the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Eggs & Issues on Feb. 9.

A lifelong Mainer who has been a respected leader in the state’s affordable housing sector for more than 30 years, Dana will share his expert insights into the affordable housing crisis facing Maine — how we got here, what’s happening now, and how we successfully move forward. His presentation will include a look at local, state, and federal influences in housing as well as personal reflections on the affordable housing sector and his career.

Match reached for Giving Tuesday campaign!

We are pleased to announce that we have reached our $45,000 match for the Silver Hearth Fund as part of our Giving Tuesday fundraising campaign! These funds will go a long way toward helping to ensure that older residents in Maine and New Hampshire live in safe, quality, affordable housing. We could not have done this without your support. THANK YOU!