Bayside Opportunity Center finds space at 62 Elm Street in Bayside!
Many of you have already shown interest in the Bayside Opportunity Center (BOC), and we wanted to share a simple way to be part of what we’re building. Perhaps you remember someone who helped you feel at home when you were new—a neighbor who listened, offered guidance, or made room for you. That same kindness can help someone else find their footing here in Bayside. Now, we have a new place to make those connections: 62 Elm Street, the former Spurwink space, made available through the generosity of Reveler Development.
Our journey began with a bold vision: to establish a permanent community center in Bayside, filling the hole left in our community by the closure of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center, while fulfilling a decades-long dream for a home for the Bayside Neighborhood Association (BNA). To lay the groundwork, the BNA formed the Bayside Opportunity Center as a dedicated community development corporation. Since then, the BOC has brought neighbors together through community meals, language exchange programs, and growing partnerships. We have made major strides over the past year—appointing a diverse and multi-talented board of directors and advisory team, enlisting a professional grantwriter, and hiring our first staff member, Operations Lead Obed Aboagye. Securing a temporary home at 62 Elm Street not only gives us room to expand this work, but a home base from which to meet and connect with our local partners and the people of Bayside who will actively shape what comes next.
The BOC is a community center and resource hub where people across backgrounds, languages, and life experiences can connect, learn, and contribute. We believe every neighbor brings something valuable: a skill, a story, an idea, or simply the willingness to sit with someone and listen. Our English Conversation Groups put that belief into practice. Neighbors learning English gather with volunteer conversation partners to talk about everyday life, exchange experiences, and practice speaking in a welcoming setting. You do not need to be a certified teacher to take part. Being a “chatter” means showing up, being curious, and helping someone feel comfortable using their voice.
Our recent community meals have highlighted the power of coming together. During Global Welcoming Week in September, we teamed up with the Greater Portland YMCA to host tabling in their lobby, sharing resources and greeting neighbors. This culminated in BOC board members and friends hosting an international picnic lunch at Avesta’s Unity Village at Bayside, sharing dishes representing Bayside’s diverse cultures. Working with the the City of Portland Office of Economic Opportunity, we are proud to support Portland’s recertification process with Welcoming America, serving as a core bridge-building partner for immigrant inclusion.
Looking ahead, we envision the BOC as a vibrant, multilingual, and multicultural hub that lifts up New Mainers and connects residents to essential resources by collaborating with key partners. We are building a comprehensive network of support including Maine Action Immigrant Network, Hope Acts, Food For All Services, Portland Adult Education, ProsperityME, YMCA, Boys’ & Girls’ Club, Avesta Housing, Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition, A. Philip Randolph Institute, and local trade unions as well. At 62 Elm Street, we aim to create connections through skill sharing, cultural exchange, and community events.
We welcome your ideas, your involvement, and the care you already bring to this community. Become a conversation partner, share a skill, volunteer, or introduce us to a potential community partner. In the coming weeks we’ll be busy cleaning, painting, collecting furniture, tools, and supplies, moving in and setting up. We need your help! Together we can turn this new space into a home for connection, belonging, and opportunity, with light and love for every neighbor. — • —
for more info: www.baysideoc.org
April 2026
A Vision for Bayside
For decades, the Bayside Neighborhood Association has a dream of a community center where all are seen, heard, and valued. An anchor for a neighborhood in flux, grappling with the dual pressures of gentrification and a concentration of social challenges. After a 25-year journey of determination, that vision has found a Home at 28 Portland Street
We are poised to convert an underutilized building at 28 Portland Street into the Bayside Opportunity Center (BOC), a vibrant Community Multicultural Center. This is more than a building; it is a promise to the New Mainers, the immigrant and refugee families, the underrepresented residents, ALICE (asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed), and all who seek a place of belonging. It is a promise to foster a new kind of community—one that is not defined by its struggles, but by its capacity for collaboration, empowerment, and shared success.
The BOC will be a dynamic, people-centered hub where community is built and futures are forged. Our mission is to transform lives by providing a central point for crucial resources:
A Neighborhood Activated
Once the BOC is operational and successful, our vision for the neighborhood around Portland Street is one of vibrant transformation. The street, once known for its challenges, will be bustling with safe pedestrian traffic. Children will walk with their parents. Neighbors will stop to greet one another
We envision a street where the diversity of our streets is proliferated with new shops and cafes. The sidewalks on Preble and Oxford Streets will be lined with small businesses, owned and operated by the very people the BOC serves. The area will become a destination, known not just for its diversity but for its prosperity, with a flourishing local economy driven by small businesses and a community that feels seen and supported. The presence of the BOC will foster a new sense of safety and community ownership, empowering residents to actively shape their neighborhood’s future.
This project is a win for the entire city—it turns a non-performing asset into a vital resource, activates a challenged street, and reduces costs for public services by fostering a more stable and prosperous community.
Be a thread in Bayside’s tapestry
