Thomas Heights, an 18-unit building of efficiency apartments intended for low-income and homeless veterans, will have a grand opening Wednesday in Portland.

The $3.6 million project at 134 Washington Ave. was led by the nonprofit Avesta Housing, the state’s largest developer of affordable housing. Thomas Heights is named after Thomas Ptacek, a local advocate for homeless veterans.

“I think we came to Tom because he’s just very thoughtful, he’s very positive, and he’s a very caring and compassionate guy,” Avesta President and CEO Dana Totman said. “We really liked the idea that this was a regular guy in the community who is passionate about helping homeless veterans.”

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