Portland / Maine / United States
Founded in 1972 with a shoestring budget and a staff of three, Avesta Housing has grown to become one of the countrys most innovative and respected leaders in affordable housing. Known as York Cumberland Housing before changing its name in 2003, Avesta Housing originated when two Maine Community Action agencies joined to focus on affordable housing problems. With steady growth over the subsequent four decades, Avesta currently maintains a portfolio of over 1, 600 housing units and administers Section 8 housing vouchers for an additional 1, 300 families. Avesta has assets of over $113 million and a $23 million annual budget. A nonprofit organization, Avesta Housing is governed by a fifteen member Board of Directors drawn from the financial, business, public sector, community, social-service, and housing spheres. Avesta employs a staff of more than ninety employees with administrative headquarters in Portland, Maine. Today, Avesta Housing is one of the largest nonprofit developers of affordable housing in New England. Avesta receives consistently high marks from its many state, federal and private-sector partners, and is recognized nationally for groundbreaking work in bringing together nonprofit, for-profit, private and public-sector organizations for the benefit of Maine communities.
