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Boys & Girls Club seeks 13,000 sq ft teen center at 9 Cedar Street; partnership proposed to replace lost housing
Summary
The Boys & Girls Club of Southern Maine presented plans for a ~13,000 sq ft expansion at 9 Cedar Street and said it will partner with Avesta Housing to replace residential units removed by the project; Avesta described a 30‑unit proposal targeting 50–60% AMI. The board asked for clearer documentation of units removed, tree impacts and timing.
At a hybrid meeting on April 14, the Portland Planning Board heard a workshop and public hearing presentation for a proposed two‑story, roughly 13,000‑square‑foot addition to the Boys & Girls Club facility at 9 Cedar Street in the Bayside neighborhood.
City staff described the project site as within the B3 downtown business zone (with a portion in RN‑4), noted the application is subject to downtown design guidelines and Maine DEP Chapter 500 stormwater standards, and reviewed the city’s housing‑replacement requirement in Section 17 of the land‑use code. Staff told the board the applicant has partnered with Avesta Housing to meet the replacement obligation at 19 Cedar Street; that Avesta application has been submitted but not yet reviewed by planning staff.
Applicant representatives described program and design elements intended to expand teen services and workforce training: a ground‑level workshop with three overhead bay doors for safe, supervised career‑skills training, a new entrance aligned with Cumberland Avenue, an accessible lobby, an enclosed rear play area with synthetic turf over stormwater storage, and screening along the property edge to protect adjacent residences. Architect Nat Grama said the design seeks to honor the existing clubhouse masonry while providing modern, transparent circulation and an elevator to connect floors.
Danny Hill, representing the applicant, described mitigation steps for housing removed by the project: the application would demolish two existing multifamily buildings representing about 25 units (applicant’s presentation), and Hill said the club has donated two parcels to support replacement housing and contributed about $200,000 toward the effort. “We have donated two parcels of land that are worth about $1,000,000 and we’ve kicked in another $200,000 of funding… Our idea would be affordable housing,” Hill said.
Avesta’s director of development, John Egan, said Avesta has filed an application for a 30‑unit building at 19 Cedar Street and is pursuing MaineHousing financing and a Federal Home Loan Bank grant to close financing gaps. “All 30 apartments will be targeted for 50–60% median income,” Egan said, and he summarized the anticipated schedule—preliminary rounds in July and an application for permanent financing in the fall.
Speakers from the Bayside neighborhood and users of the club strongly supported the expansion, citing teen programming, workforce readiness and the club’s service to New Mainers. At the same time, residents and board members asked for clearer documentation at the hearing about exactly how many housing units would be removed and replaced, tree removals, construction‑management plans and the timeline for ensuring replacement housing is completed or secured within the three‑year requirement in the code.
The board and staff asked the applicant to provide the precise counts and timing and to clarify whether replacement units will be on a site‑built timeline or addressed via fee‑in‑lieu if necessary. No final decision was made; the application will move toward a hearing with additional materials requested by staff and board members.
