Portland Planning Board unanimously approves Portland Housing Authority redevelopment at 9 Boyd Street

The City of Portland Planning Board unanimously approved a major site plan and subdivision for phases 2 and 3 of the Portland Housing Authority's Home Block redevelopment at 9 Boyd Street on May 27, 2025. The approvals cover a 7-story, 92-unit mixed-use building (phase 2) and a 3-story, 27-unit townhome-style building (phase 3), and include conditions requiring a recorded subdivision plaque, a public-easement for a mid-block pedestrian connection and maintenance agreements for landscaping in the Cumberland Avenue right-of-way.

The application, presented by city planner Eric (planner) and representatives of Portland Housing Authority and the project design team, replaces four vacant 1960s-era multifamily buildings on the block bounded by Cumberland, Oxford, Mayo and Boyd Streets. Phase 1, a six-story, 55-unit building, was previously approved and is located at the corner of Oxford and Boyd Streets; phases 2 and 3 will be constructed at the Cumberland/Boyd and Mayo/Oxford corners respectively.

Why it matters: The redevelopment consolidates a low-density public-housing block into a multi-phase, higher-density plan that includes mixed-income multifamily housing, shared open space and a mid-block pedestrian connection intended to improve permeability in the East Bayside neighborhood. Conditions attached to approval aim to protect public access and assign maintenance responsibilities for new landscaping in the public…