PORTLAND – The Portland City Council is set to review proposals Monday night to build affordable housing off Brighton Avenue.

The city’s Housing and Economic Development Committee has been reviewing five different proposals to build housing on two different sites off 1125 Brighton Avenue. 

The city owns both sites, which are near the Barron Center, a nursing home the city already owns and operates. At one time, according to city officials, the property was being considered for the city’s new homeless services center, which was ultimately built on Riverside Street.

This week, the committee voted to recommend to the council the proposal by Developers Collaborative, a longtime affordable housing developer in Portland. 

Kevin Bunker, the firm’s CEO, said there are still some issues with building on one of the sites, which sits closer to Interstate 95, but ultimately, he wants to build 50 units of housing on both sites.

“If it can be developed, we would develop both sites,” he said.

Bunker said some have suggested building housing for seniors, but that doesn’t make sense based on his own data. Right now, he said, Developers Collaborative has completed projects catering to both seniors and families. 

All of the projects have waiting lists to get in, he said, but housing catering to families has waiting lists that are six times as long as those for senior housing. 

“We think that family housing is not only something the neighborhood wants more, but it’s actually a higher need now in the city than senior (housing) is,” he said.

A majority of Developers Collaborative projects cater toward affordability, which Bunker defines as catering to people making 50-60% of area median income.

People in that income bracket, Bunker said, can’t afford market-rate apartments, which in Portland cost more than $2,000 a month for a one-bedroom unit, and nearly $3,000 a month for two bedrooms.

Despite the committee’s recommendations, it is still up to the council to decide who gets the green light. Bunker said he thinks his proposal best meets the city’s needs. 

“We’re optimistic, but we’re looking forward to seeing what happens,” he said.