Bayside Anchor Apartments
LOCATION: Portland, ME
SCOPE: New construction
SIZE: 38,500 square feet
COMPLETION DATE: November 2016
COST: $142 / square foot
PRE-CERTIFIED PASSIVE HOUSE
Can you build a permanently affordable Passive House multi-family building for $142 per square foot?
How do you express the funky character of a diverse neighborhood that wants to show the world their spirit in a conservative New England city?
What does it mean to be an “anchor” of a neighborhood and provide a Head Start along with Community spaces?
The Bayside Anchor brings 45 new affordable homes to Portland, Maine at a time when high rents and 1% vacancy rates have created a city-wide housing crisis. The project models sustainability, guarantees attainability for low-income residents, and serves as a community hub by give space to a Head Start facility, housing offices and a Community Police Station. And no one can stop talking about the color…
Bayside Anchor is a deeply sustainable, socially and technically innovative project located in blocks from downtown Portland. The project was built to the PHIUS+ low energy standard for only $142 per square foot, which is 20% less than the average cost for similar construction in Portland. Residents can count on miniscule heating bills (estimated at less than $100 per unit per year) in Maine’s cold winters for the life of the building, thanks to careful integration of a continuously-operating fresh air ventilation system and a meticulously air-sealed building enclosure that will meet the most stringent global standard available (0.05 CFM50 or 0.37 ACH50!). The building will meet or exceed Passive House standards thanks to detailed analysis of its insulation, airtightness, high performance windows and doors, and solar gains.
Perhaps most importantly, Bayside Anchor is a vital social catalyst for the East Bayside neighborhood, a place that is as beautiful and diverse in design as it is sustainable and affordable. The community asked for a building that was bright, cheerful and optimistic about the future.
The building includes artist-commissioned murals, a community police station, affordable housing agency offices, and a Head Start Classroom on the ground floor, serving as a true anchor to the community.
The project was one of the winning entries in the Lowering the Cost of Housing competition, which was sponsored by Deutsche Bank and Enterprise Community Partners. The team was the only national winner, awarded for design innovation that prioritizes energy efficiency, cost effective building technologies, and equitable urban development. This ambitious model project is the first new building this local affordable housing agency has constructed in over 40 years.
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