Construction season is winding down for a lot of Maine crews, but one job in Augusta is just getting going. On Thursday, Oct. 1, Gov. Janet Mills joined housing, finance and service partners to break ground on Riverlands, a 25-apartment building at 53 Oxford St. for people who have been chronically homeless.
It's the first project to break ground under Home for Good, the permanent supportive housing program Mills started in 2023. Volunteers of America Northern New England says seven Home for Good projects are planned around the state, and Riverlands is the first one out of the gate. According to WABI, the building is expected to be finished in October 2027.
What's going up
MaineHousing's October report to its board describes Riverlands as a single three-story building with 25 efficiency apartments "specifically designed to meet the living needs of chronically homeless individuals." The first floor will have a community room and kitchen meant for programs and shared meals, plus a conference room, laundry rooms and indoor bike storage. Each floor gets its own office, and broadband for telehealth services runs throughout the building.
That layout tells you this isn't a typical apartment job. Volunteers of America Northern New England, which describes itself as a co-owner of the project and its service provider, will staff the building around the clock. It's working with Developers Collaborative, which says Riverlands was selected in 2025 as part of the first group of Home for Good projects.
WABI reported that Riverlands will employ 13 full-time staff, with 24/7 access to support and services for residents. People will be chosen through an assessment process run by local service providers, and once the building opens, each resident will pay 30% of their monthly income toward rent.
At the ceremony, Mills read a statement from a formerly unhoused person who now gets services in a building like this one. "I think I'm a better person now to be honest. I have value now. I'm a human being again because I finally found a stable place to be," Mills read.
Augusta Mayor Mark O'Brien told WGME the project won't fit everyone. "This is not the answer for everyone, but for those who participate and benefit, it will be for them, that in turn will be a success for our entire community," he said.
How it's paid for, and what comes next
WABI reported the project is funded through the State of Maine and investors, along with residents' share of the rent. According to MaineHousing's October board packet, every one of the 25 apartments will be backed by project-based vouchers: 10 from Augusta Housing and 15 from MaineHousing. Genesis Community Loan Fund, a lender that works with MaineHousing and the state Department of Health and Human Services on Home for Good, was also at the groundbreaking. Neither the groundbreaking coverage nor MaineHousing's report put a total dollar figure on the project, and no general contractor has been named publicly.
Riverlands is only the start. WGME reported that Home for Good developments in Portland, Auburn, Bangor, Sanford and South Portland will break ground over the coming year. MaineHousing's pipeline lists several of them in preliminary underwriting: Avesta Housing's Heritage Crossing in Sanford (30 units) and The Dawn in Portland (35 units), Developers Collaborative's Hampshire Commons in Auburn (32 units) and a second Portland project (32 units), and a 30-unit project from South Portland's housing development arm. Genesis also lists BangorHousing among the Home for Good partners.
Add those five up and you get about 160 more supportive apartments in the pipeline after Riverlands.
Why it matters for Contractors
Supportive housing is a niche worth learning. Riverlands is a small building, but it packs in more than an ordinary apartment job: a community kitchen, offices on every floor, staff space, laundry, bike rooms and building-wide broadband for telehealth. That means steady work for framers, MEP subs, low-voltage and data installers, and finish trades that can handle durable, easy-to-maintain spaces. With Riverlands underway and more Home for Good projects lined up around the state, the same handful of developers, including Developers Collaborative and Avesta Housing, will have a string of these jobs moving over the next year or two. If you want in, now is the time to get on their radar and get to know who ends up building Riverlands once that's public.