Maine sparks backlash with plans to build LGBTQ+ only housing complex

A plan to build affordable housing specifically for the LGBTQ+ community in Portland, Maine, has sparked backlash, with some questioning the legality of the project.

The Equality Community Center, located in an old bank in the heart of the city, will break ground in the fall with construction of a new five-story housing unit for members of the LGBTQ+ community who are 55 and older. The opening is then planned for the spring of 2026.

The complex will include 54 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, including 11 designated for people with disabilities or living with HIV or AIDS. according to News Center Maine.

Funding for the project comes from the MaineHousing Affordable Tax Credit, the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, a commercial bank loan and a 75 percent financing district granted 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.

“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: your taxes, their benefits,” he claimed.

Craig Chamberlin, host of The Craig Chamberlin Show, also labeled the plan as discriminatory.

‘This shows that group movements like this were never about equal rights – they were always about politicians granting special rights to favored groups who would vote for them.’

The popular LibsofTikTok page questioned the legality of the project

Craig Chamberlin suggested the project is a ploy by politicians to grant special rights to groups who would vote for them

Despite the backlash, proponents of the project say it fills a gap for a vulnerable population.

‘To have something good [in] Downtown Portland is huge for the LGBTQ community to be a part of,” Ed Gardner, a developer and founder of the ECC who donated the land for the project, told News Center Maine.

He explained that the low-rise housing complex will bring older LGBTQ+ adults under one roof, who may not have children to care for them as they grow older.

At the new complex, Gardner said, residents will be able to find acceptance and services, including resources for people with HIV and AIDS.

“I think we can see them coming out and becoming more part of the community, instead of being stuck in their homes and not having anyone to hang out with,” Gardner said.

It will also provide residents with access to social services, healthcare, transportation, entertainment and recreation, according to the ECC’s Facebook page.

Another X-user described the project as Democratic Socialism

Christina Caulfield, a volunteer at the ECC – which is home to nearly two dozen LGBTQ+ community organizations – also said residents will benefit from having the facility right next door.

‘This place not only brings a positive place, a place where you can live with people who do that too [aren’t] It will be terrible for you, but it has to do with this,” she said, referring to the ECC.

“So it’s a place to live and a community all in one place.”

More than 100 potential residents have already signed up 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, as one is already under construction in Boston.

Others also originated in Fort Lauderdale, San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia.