A big renovation job in Portland just got bigger. The Portland Housing Authority is moving everyone out of Franklin Towers, its 200-unit subsidized high-rise for older adults and people with disabilities, so the building can be renovated top to bottom.
According to Maine Public, the housing authority says the building has about 150 residents right now. (WMTW put the number of people living there at about 200.) Jay Waterman, PHA's director of real estate development, said tenants are being moved to the authority's other local properties, to other affordable housing providers and, if needed, to long-term hotel rentals. PHA will cover moving costs. Waterman said relocation could take six months or more, and the renovation of the building, which went up in the late 1960s, is expected to take about two years.
"PHA staff have already started meeting one-on-one with each household to understand their needs, accommodations, and required services so we can provide tailored support now, when tenants are living away from Franklin Towers, and when they return to the renovated building," Waterman said in a written statement.
PHA told NEWS CENTER Maine it has two full-time relocation coordinators and that residents who stay eligible are guaranteed the right to return.
A change of plans
This wasn't the original approach. Residents told WMTW the plan used to be to renovate in phases, letting people stay in parts of the building that weren't under construction. WMTW reported the building has been plagued by bedbugs, cockroaches, mold, asbestos and other toxins, and that PHA told residents in letters it would be safer to have everyone out while the work is done.
Some residents are frustrated. "We're all worried and, like, what are they going to do with us next? They say one thing and change it, and they've done that multiple times now," resident Samantha Hashey told WMTW.
PHA's own board packets show how far along the project already is. A development update in the authority's Sept. 3 board packet said the building permit was approved, the project had received final EPA approval for its PCB mitigation plan and PHA was moving toward a closing with MaineHousing and a tax credit syndicator. The goal was to close and start the rehab in November 2026. The October packet repeated that target.
The contractor is Zachau Construction. In June, the board of PHA's development arm authorized a first limited notice to proceed letting Zachau pre-order 68 Ephoca HVAC units for the first phase. In September, PHA's board approved a second one worth up to $968,472 to pre-order 116 historic windows and install temporary utilities before closing.
The windows alone account for $622,051. A staff memo said historic rehabs typically need custom windows to qualify for historic tax credits, and that the design was approved by the project's historic consultant, the National Park Service and the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. The windows are being made in Poland, with a lead time of 14 to 16 weeks. Waiting until closing to order them would have delayed the rehab by about eight to 10 weeks, the memo said.
The other $346,421 covered temporary water, sewer and heat, including new vertical plumbing stacks, gas lines and hydronic heating lines. That piece was written for the phased plan, when the first rehab phase was going to cover 56 apartments while residents stayed in the other 144. With the building now emptying out, how that changes isn't clear. PHA told NEWS CENTER Maine the scope of modernization is still under development.
Under that second notice, Zachau and its subs are fronting the cost, with a MaineHousing construction loan expected to reimburse them. An estimate sheet from Zachau in the packet based its bond cost on a "$46.8 M project cost." MaineHousing's pipeline lists Franklin Towers as a 200-unit rehab financed with 4% tax credits and likely completed in 2028 or 2029.
PHA's October packet also said the first 50 federal tenant protection vouchers for Franklin Towers have been funded, with the other 150 expected in November.
Why it matters for Contractors
A 16-story historic rehab of a 200-unit tower is a rare job in Maine, and it touches nearly every trade: abatement crews for PCBs and asbestos, demolition, mechanical and plumbing subs replacing stacks and heating systems, window installers working with custom historic units, electricians, drywall, flooring and finish crews. Zachau Construction is the name to know for bid packages. Pre-ordering windows and HVAC equipment through limited notices to proceed before closing is how owners keep a tax credit schedule from slipping, and contractors who can carry that early cost have an edge on jobs like this.