A Beacon of Hope for Maine's LGBTQ+ Community

In June 2023, the Equality Community Center in Portland, Maine announced plans to develop the state's first affordable housing complex specifically designed for LGBTQ+ older adults and their allies. The proposed building would feature 55 units targeted at residents aged 55 and older, with a low-income housing tax credit structure to keep rents affordable. The project addressed a documented gap in housing security for aging LGBTQ+ individuals, who disproportionately lack the family support networks many older adults depend on.

The ECC, already home to over a dozen LGBTQ+ and allied nonprofits in a 22,000-square-foot collaborative space in downtown Portland, was raising $4 million through a capital campaign to support the project. The development was seen as a model for LGBTQ+-affirming senior housing in New England, with similar projects underway only in Boston at the time.

Announcement to keys in three years is quick for Portland. Equality Commons, five stories at 25 Casco Street, cut its ribbon on August 19, 2026 with 54 income-restricted apartments for tenants 55 and older, and WGME reports more than 250 people waitlisted, so most will not get one. Financing was a patchwork: MaineHousing chose it in 2024, a TD Bank fund supplied about $9.7 million in tax credit equity, and the city added a 75 percent tax increment financing deal, per the Maine Wire, which notes anyone meeting the age and income tests may apply. Rents run from $1,217 for a studio to $1,878 for two bedrooms, and those caps reset when the 2027 limits land.