Bayside Neighborhood Association's project called a model for New England

After a near-miss with the wrecking ball and then being cut into three pieces and moved across town, the Captain Francis Osgood house is looking good in Portland's Bayside neighborhood.  The historic home is about to welcome its newest owner. 

In the summer of 2005, when this 1857 Portland home was set to be demolished to make way for condominiums, the people at Bayside Neighborhood Association (BNA) saw an opportunity to save the house and provide an affordable home to an income-eligible
first-time homebuyer.

When the developer donated the building and provided $100,000 in cash to
move it, BNA, working with the City of Portland and HUD, got to work moving the house, buying a lot on Myrtle Street and beginning renovations and systems work. When the City's loan needed repayment before the extensive renovations were completed and a buyer could be secured, the Genesis Fund stepped in to assist with a $190,000 bridge loan.

BNA President Ron Spinella and Project Manager Tom Blackburn and his crew, along with dozens of community volunteers, worked for months with a large amount of discounted and donated materials to renovate the house and preserve its many period details.

While Margaret Widmer, a 34 year-old artist and native of Brunswick employed at the Maine College of Art, won the lottery of income-eligible buyers, the property will stay affordable in perpetuity to all additional purchasers.  "Through HUD funding the City of Portland holds $30,000 in equity so that a future prospective buyer will have the opportunity to purchase the home at an affordable price," explained Spinella.

 

Neighborhood children raise funds for BNA

On June 22, 2006, to mark the month of June as Homeownership month, Gov. John Baldacci, Portland Mayor James Cohen, BNA President Ron Spinella, representatives from the New England HUD office and Maine's congressional delegation, Genesis staff, and many members of the Bayside neighborhood were on hand to celebrate 63 Myrtle Street as a model of community development sparked by creativity, vision and a whole lot of help from volunteers and friends of Bayside.

"It's been a pleasure to work with the Genesis Fund," said Blackburn, the project manager.  "This is BNA's first foray into affordable housing, but we have lots of plans for the future and would welcome the chance to partner with Genesis again."

New owner Margaret Widmer expresses her thanks to the many people who have helped her find and purchase her home.