This Site at 165 Washington Avenue is to be the Location for the New High Rise Apartment on Which Construction is to Start Next Month. Only 11 Spaces Will be Available .for Ssomeone, But Not to Worry Because There Will be Over 100 Bike Racks for Bikers!
Construction of a seven story apartment building at 165 Washington Avenue on the east end of Portland is expected to begin on or about June 15, 2026, according to information received earlier this month from Jonathan Culley, managing partner of Redfern Properties. Construction of Tavata will begin following the demolition of the former Northern Burner building that remains on the property. The building has been empty for several years. Asbestos removal will come first.
Construction of the building was to have begun last spring. However, it was delayed until this year because of the “erratic and unpredictable economic” policies of the Trump adminisration Culley, managing partner said last March 5th in an email to this blogger.
Since that time, no changes have been made to the construction plans. It is still expected to be a 325 unit apartment building with no parking spaces for residents at the edge of a major shopping district on the east end of Portland. Rather, there will be 11 parking spaces to be used for “pick-ups, drop-offs, etc” according to Culley. The city does not require parking spaces when a development is in close proximity to a bus stop which this development is.
Furthermore, there are over 100 bike racks planned for the building. Biking is a transportation option that doesn’t seem like a good one for commuters given the cold and often snowy winters that Portland experiences.
The original intent of Tavata was to provide housing for students from overseas coming to Maine to attend the Roux Institute. However, the intent now is to house “downtown workforce and students,” according to Culley. Reports that there has been a downturn in the number of immigrants traveling to the US may be a factor in the shift of intent that currently exists for Tavata’s housing population. The downturn is largley because of Corrupt Trump’s war on immigrants and his often illegal deportation of immigrants.
At one time, the Loring Am Vet Post 25 directly across the street was considering the sale of its property. That was because of the disruption of a parking agreement between the vet center members and the Northern Burner property owners. It is not known at this time where that consideration stands.
In any event, construction is expected to take 24 months to complete. The constriction firm is Penobscot General Contractors. Some views on Munjoy Hill will be obscured by the construction of this 7-story building, although Munjoy Heights views are not expected to be affected by this construction. Redfern has developed numerous other buildings in Portland including Munjoy Heights, The Casco, The Hiawatha, 89 Anderson, West End Place and others.
As of July 2026, an update on the project indicates that the Loring Am Vet Post # 25 on Washington Avenue is for sale. It is at least in part because of the loss of about 20 parking spaces at the Northern Burner building site for the Post’s members. It had an agreement that in exchange for those parking spots, the Post would maintain the property for Northern Burner. But with the construction of Tavata underway, that agreement no longer exists.
For background information on this project, please visit posts herein dated March 5, 2025, December 9, 2024 and for details on the parking issues for the Am Vets Center, visit post herein dated October 8, 2024.