Maine Business Leaders Form Coalition to Help Tackle the Housing Crisis

November 6, 2025

Newscenter Maine

Excerpt:

SCARBOROUGH, Maine — A group of Maine business leaders have formed a coalition to help address the state's housing crisis. 

Build Homes Build Community describes itself as a "statewide pro-housing coalition that will advocate for housing policies, programs, and initiatives, and encourage Maine people to support housing production in their communities." 

The group identifies as nonpartisan and research driven and held a press conference at 11 a.m. Wednesday in Scarborough to announce their goals and share their mission.

According to a news release, the coalition is led by the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition, Maine Real Estate and Development Association, Maine State Chamber of Commerce, and the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce. 

"What we're doing is coming together to sing in one voice... instead of speaking all these different voices," Richards said.

When speaking about how the collaboration will be effective, CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce Patrick Woodcock said, "We're united. Different missions, but we can't be successful in our own missions unless we address this housing shortage."

Woodcock emphasized that business leaders are stepping up after seeing firsthand how difficult it is for employees to find affordable homes—or any homes at all. That includes essential workers like firefighters, teachers, and police officers, many of whom are being priced out of the communities they serve.

First accounts from dozens of Maine employers and employees dealing with these problems were played in a video at the conference."Building new homes is what's going to keep the people we rely on able to be there in our communities," said one speaker.

Shannon Richards, president of MEREDA, pointed out the irony that even construction workers—the very people needed to build more homes—struggle to find housing themselves. That cycle is making the crisis harder to fix.

"What we're doing is coming together to sing in one voice... instead of speaking all these different voices," Richards said.

The coalition plans to lobby both state lawmakers and local officials, especially where local zoning and planning decisions often create bottlenecks for new housing development.

... See full coverage at New Center Maine