From good to great: Portland’s insatiable demand for multifamily housing and condominiums - by Dan Greenstein

Dan Greenstein, CBRE | The Boulos Company

The U.S. Census indicates that the population of the United States has grown 4.1% over the past five years, but it is interesting to note that Maine grew by only one-tenth of one percent (0.1%). While Northern Maine and the cities of Augusta and Bangor have declined in numbers, the Greater Portland area is growing. The “bedroom” communities servicing Portland have grown at rates of 4% on average during this five-year period. Furthermore, with the demographic shift of the millennial population (born 1982 – 2004), there is a demand for urban housing unlike anything ever seen in Portland, particularly on the Portland Peninsula. The long and short of it is, Portland developers can barely meet the demand for housing, whether rentals or condominiums, on the Portland Peninsula and nearby suburban areas. This is best shown by examples of what has been and is being constructed.

• Munjoy Heights - 29 units - High-end condo development built in 2015. Sold out immediately.

• West End Place -39 units - Luxury apartments built in 2015/16. Fully-leased within a month.

• Bayside Village Apartments - 400 beds - Student housing development built in 2005 in Bayside. Sold in 2010 as a distressed property for $9.2 million and sold two years later for $18.2 million.

• Adams School - 16 units - Affordable homeownership housing on Munjoy Hill.

• Midtown - 440 units - Market rate apartments approved and to be built in the Bayside area.

• 89 Anderson Street - 53 units - Market rate apartments in East Bayside to be occupied October 2016.

• 58 Fore Street - 600 units - Proposed 10-acre, mixed-use waterfront development which includes condos and apartments.

• Schlotterbeck & Foss - 55 units - One-bedroom and studio apartments under construction in Bayside as a historic conversion from a former manufacturing facility.

• 101 York Street - 63 units - Five-story apartment building with 17,000 s/f of first floor retail currently under construction in the West End neighborhood.

• 667 Congress Street - 132 units - Seven-story apartment building under construction in the Longfellow Square neighborhood. The largest market rate apartment building project constructed in over 30 years.

• Luminato Condominiums - 26 units - Condominium under construction in the East End of Portland at the base of Munjoy Hill.

• Chestnut Street Apartments - 54 units - Market rate apartment complex to be built in Bayside adjacent to the Chestnut Street Parking Garage.

These newly constructed and proposed projects will total over 1,900 units on the Portland peninsula alone. Without a doubt, the Portland peninsula which includes the Central Business District, is the most sought after real estate in the state of Maine. The question to ask is, “Will the occupants of these units be new to the area, or will many just transition from older housing stock.” After all, for the five-year period ending in 2015, the population of Portland proper has not changed more than 1%. Time will tell whether all of the housing inventory will be absorbed, through organic growth of the Greater Portland population, or whether there will just be a “reshuffling” of individual residences.

Dan Greenstein is a broker and partner for CBRE | The Boulos Company, Portland, Me.