A plan to build affordable housing specifically for the LGBTQ+ community in Portland, Maine, has generated backlash, with some questioning the legality of the project.
The Equality Community Center, located in a former bank in the heart of the city, will begin construction on its new five-story housing unit for members of the LGBTQ+ community ages 55 and older in the fall. Its inauguration is scheduled for spring 2026.
The complex will include 54 studio, one- and two-bedroom units, including 11 designed for people with disabilities or living with HIV or AIDS. according to the Maine News Center.
Funding for the project comes from MaineHousing affordable tax credits, federal low-income housing tax credits, a commercial bank loan, and a 75 percent incremental financing district awarded by the city of Portland. Mainebiz Reports.
It is expected to cost $15 million.
But some online say the plan is discriminatory and that public funds should not be used to build it.
Equality Community Center will begin construction on its new five-story housing unit for members of the LGBTQ+ community ages 55 and older in the fall.
“Under the Fair Housing Act, housing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal,” the popular conservative account “LibsofTikTok” posted on X.
‘How is this legal?’
Another X user wrote that “taxpayers will now be forced to pay for housing for the LGBTQ+ community.”
“This is what democratic socialism looks like: its taxes, its benefits,” he said.
Craig Chamberlin, host of The Craig Chamberlin Show, also criticized the plan as discriminatory.
“This shows that group movements like this were never about equal rights: they were always about politicians giving special rights to preferred groups who would vote for them.”
The popular LibsofTikTok page questioned the legality of the project
Craig Chamberlin suggested that the project is a ploy by politicians to give special rights to groups who would vote for them.
In the face of backlash, proponents of the project say it is filling a void for a vulnerable population.
“Having something right (in) downtown Portland for the LGBTQ community to be a part of is huge,” Ed Gardner, a developer and founding member of ECC who donated the land for the project, told News Center Maine.
He explained that the low-rise complex will bring together LGBTQ+ seniors under one roof, who may not have children to care for them as they age.
At the new complex, Gardner said, residents will be able to find acceptance and services, including resources for those living with HIV and AIDS.
“I think we’ll be able to see them go out and be more part of the community instead of being stuck in their homes and not having anyone to socialize with,” Gardner said.
It will also provide residents with access to social services, healthcare, transportation, entertainment and recreation, according to the ECC Facebook page.
Another X user described the project as democratic socialism.
Christina Caulfield, a volunteer at ECC, which is home to nearly 20 organizations for the LGBTQ+ community, also said residents will be able to benefit from having the facility right next door.
“This place not only offers a positive place, a place where you can live with people who (are) not going to be horrible to you, but it is also connected to this,” he said, referring to the ECC.
“So it’s a place to live and a community all gathered in one place.”
More than 100 prospective residents have already applied for one of the apartments, said executive director Chris O’Connor.
Once completed, it will be the second LGBTQ-focused affordable housing complex in New England, with one already under construction in Boston.
Others have also sprung up in Fort Lauderdale, San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia.
