Freedom Place is a collaboration between a private developer with social awareness and a non-profit social services agency with business sense. This completely unique combination offers a novel approach to addressing the homeless issue in Portland, Maine.

 

Portland based Developers Collaborative’s founding principal Kevin Bunker has a long track record of creating affordable housing, preserving historic buildings, and creating developments that enhance the community. Amistad is a social services agency founded in 1982 that helps those with substance use disorder, chronic homelessness, and related issues to recover and lead healthy lives.

 

66 State Street was already home to Amistad which operated a drop in center and dining hall on site when Kevin purchased the building from Catholic Charities. His initial plans were to redevelop the site into market rate housing to address the high demand for luxury condominiums in the West End. 

 

However, after learning more about Amistad’s mission from it’s director Brian Townsend, Kevin completely shifted his plans. With this deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities of the most vulnerable of Portland’s citizens, Freedom Place at 66 State was born.

Read more about the story of this unique partnership here.