100% affordable housing at 1871 Forest Avenue
Summary
Avesta Housing wants to replace a vacant commercial restaurant site with 33 affordable apartments on Forest Avenue, one of the city's main corridors. The plan trades 59 existing parking spaces for just 8, leaning on transit and neighborhood walkability.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 3
- Last 30 days
- 0
Last discussed Jun 23, 2026.
Impact analysis
No city funding is attached to the project, but affordable units would add housing stock at below-market rents along Forest Avenue.
Low- and moderate-income households seeking affordable apartments in a transit-accessible corridor.
Nearby residents may have concerns about parking, traffic, and the loss of the existing mature trees and informal path to Hannaford.
Mentions & discussions (3)
Planning Board - Jun 23, 2026
Avesta Housing wants to replace a vacant commercial restaurant site with 33 affordable apartments on Forest Avenue, one of the city's main corridors. The plan trades 59 existing parking spaces for just 8, leaning on transit and neighborhood walkability.
Planning Board - May 12, 2026
Avesta Housing wants to replace the vacant Tortilla Flats restaurant site with 33 studio apartments for people coming out of chronic homelessness, with 24/7 caseworker staff on site. Neighbors were largely supportive, but privacy buffering for the Quaker cemetery and a safer Forest Avenue crosswalk were top concerns.
Zoning Board of Appeals - Jan 15, 2026
Casco Bay Recovery can now operate a small residential care facility in an RN-1 residential zone at 1476 Forest Avenue, following unanimous board approval.
Related development
1871 Forest Avenue Multifamily Development
Would convert a mostly vacant commercial lot into 33 affordable homes, cutting impervious surface by about 6,400 square feet while adding housing on a major transit corridor.
Conditional Use — Residential Care Facility (Small), 1476 Forest Avenue
A small licensed care home can open at the Forest Avenue site.
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