PORTLAND, Maine — The City of Portland is well into a year-long relationship with cities of similar size from across the country as they all try to make housing more available.
Martha Galvez runs NYU's Furman Center for Housing Solutions. As NEWS CENTER Maine first reported in April, Portland was one of nine cities chosen to share ideas, successes, and failures, all with the goal of finding the right fit for their cities.
"A lot of the time, it just helps to hear that other places are grappling with the same issues and responding in different ways," Galvez said during a Tuesday virtual interview.
The group was chosen from applicants and is free of charge. They meet virtually every month with updates and discussion topics paid out by NYU.
"And to just weigh in with their questions, what they've tried in their cities, with their hard questions that often we can't answer and other people can't answer. And we try to go back and bring them some resources that help them move forward," Galvez said.
In April, now-former city planner Matt Grooms showed NEWS CENTER Maine the beginnings of a building project on Federal Street. Once completed, it will be the tallest building in Maine at 18 stories, holding 263 housing units within.
Nell Donaldson, special projects manager with Portland Planning & Urban Development, explained how 27 units in this building will, by law, be sold as affordable housing. It's one way to help Mainers afford to live in the city where they work — a growing issue in Portland. Donaldson shared this with the peer cities and has gotten other ideas in return.
"It is really helpful to reflect with other people in other places who are doing similar work on challenges they're facing or successes they've had, or models they're employing," Donaldson said.
Galvez will consider the program a success if city leaders point to projects down the road and say, "We learned this from the NYU network."
With an issue like making housing available in some of Maine's most expensive neighborhoods, more voices are welcome.