Developers Collaborative to Be Honored at 2025 Greater Portland Landmarks Awards for 2023 Preservation Work

Celebrating the Stevens Square Community Center, Reed School, and Freedom Place

We’re proud to share that Developers Collaborative will be formally recognized at Greater Portland Landmarks’ 2025 Preservation Awards Celebration for our 2023 Preservation Award — honoring three transformational adaptive reuse projects in Portland:

• Reed School (North Deering)

• Stevens Square Community Center (Deering Center)

• Freedom Place (West End)

Each of these projects reflects our continued commitment to preserving Portland’s architectural legacy while reimagining historic buildings as active community assets.

A Spotlight on Stevens Square Community Center

As beautifully described by Maine Preservation (mainepreservation.org):

“The community center provides informal gathering spaces where campus residents and members of the public can interact and build bonds with their neighbors… The intergenerational relationships once shared between student and sister are now forged between senior residents and youth basketball players.”

Originally built as Catherine McAuley High School in 1969, the building had become vacant after the Maine Girls’ Academy closed in 2018. Developers Collaborative, led by Kevin Bunker, undertook a bold adaptive reuse project transforming the 50,000-square-foot school into a vibrant community hub. Today, the space supports local nonprofits, wellness services, a daycare, commercial offices, and more — while preserving the structure’s modernist character and history.

We’re grateful to Maine Preservation for documenting this work in detail. Read their full project profile at: mainepreservation.org

Join the Celebration

While the award was granted in 2023, Developers Collaborative and past 2023 winners will be formally recognized at Greater Portland Landmarks’ 60th Birthday Party and Preservation Awards Celebration:

📅 October 28, 2025 at 6 PM www.portlandlandmarks.org

We’re honored to be included in this celebration of preservation, progress, and placemaking — alongside the newly announced 2025 awardees:

• Fifth Maine Museum

• Woodhull Maine

• Thompson Block