SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — South Portland city councilors are expected to consider a new proposal to use the former Mahoney Middle School building as temporary transitional family housing in a workshop meeting Tuesday.
In a proposal brought forward by Greater Portland Family Promise (GPFP), the group lays out a way to utilize four former classrooms as housing for families in need of transitional housing.
If the project moves forward, the nonprofit would oversee housing for up to 10 families at the former middle school and would pay for a two-year lease on the space.
"Pretty much the whole building is vacant, and we'd been looking for transitional housing for a long time," GPFP Executive Director Michelle Lamm said.
Right now, the nonprofit is housing a handful of families at a nearby church in Portland. However, Lamm said they need to find a new place to house those families by the end of the month, an example of the growing need for more transitional housing in the Greater Portland area.
"This is the first time I'm hearing about families sleeping outside. There's currently no open shelter beds anywhere in Greater Portland," Lamm explained.
While most of the building is in good condition, the proposal requires construction for certain spaces such as bathrooms, bedrooms, and office space. Most of the renovations would be able to be covered through state grants, according to the proposal.
"I thought that it would be a fantastic opportunity while the City of South Portland figures out what the future of the Mahoney property will be," South Portland State Rep. Chris Kessler, who supports the proposal, said.
Kessler and others are also pushing for city council members to adjust the zoning codes on the building, which will be needed to allow the space to act as a medium-scale shelter and allow private dwellings for families.
In a position paper on the proposal, city staff said they do not support the idea of a zoning change on the building at this point in time.
A workshop meeting on the project was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.