Stevens Avenue, Portland photo by Greater Portland Landmarks
The city's housing committee agreed this month to reallocate federal dollars from a Portland Housing Authority (PHA) housing project to a project that will rehabilitate a former convent on Stevens Avenue. PHA's project on Boyd Street is on hold and the Stevens Avenue project has a funding gap that needs to be closed as rehabilitation work is hoped to begin this spring.
The plans for the vacant convent building will convert it into housing for people 55 years and up. The project is in part financed with historic and low income tax credits. The value of those credits has diminished, creating a small funding gap in the $17 million dollar project.
The convent will be one of many historic properties to be restored using the federal historic tax credit program, a program that is currently in danger of being lost even though it creates more money than costs. Please help us build support for retaining this important preservation tool and learn more about our advocacy for retaining and improving the federal historic tax credit.