Redeveloping Portland's Bayside District

City planners approve subdivision of Bayside site
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By KELLEY BOUCHARD, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald Thursday, October 12, 2006

Portland's move to subdivide city land at Marginal Way and Preble Street Extension signals that progress is being made on several projects planned at the Bayside intersection.
The Planning Board approved a five-lot subdivision Tuesday night that paves the way for a medical office building, student housing and an expanded Miss Portland Diner to be built on the narrow, 4-acre site along Interstate 295.
The subdivision has been anticipated for years as the city pushed ahead with plans to redevelop the largely industrial Bayside neighborhood into a commercial and residential gateway to downtown Portland.
"This is just the next step, which shows how these projects are moving along," Jack Lufkin, Portland's economic development director, said Wednesday.
The subdivision includes a parcel at Marginal Way and Preble Street Extension where Cape Elizabeth developer Theodore West plans to build a $20 million, eight-story office building and parking garage for Intermed. West built the AAA building and is constructing another office building at the same intersection.
The Planning Board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the Intermed building's site plan in November.
The subdivision also includes a parcel at 120 Marginal Way, where the $25 million Bayside Village Student Housing would be built. The five-story, 100-suite apartment building includes 102 ground-floor parking spaces. The project will go before the Planning Board on Oct. 24, said Alexander Jaegerman, Portland's planning director.
Last fall, the City Council agreed to sell about 3 acres for the office building and student housing for $1 million to West and his partner, Realty Resources Chartered of Rockport, which is developing the student housing.
In June, the council gave the office building a $4.8 million property tax break over 15 years and the student housing a $1.2 million tax break over 10 years.
The subdivided city land includes a 6,000-square-foot parcel on Marginal Way that would be occupied by the Miss Portland Diner. The council agreed in August to sell the diner to Thomas Manning, a Newsweek magazine executive who grew up on Munjoy Hill.
Manning would pay $25,000 for the diner, which is in storage, and $75,000 for the land, which has a bus shelter. He said he plans to invest as much as $750,000 in the project, which would include adding kitchen space and seating to the authentic Worcester Lunch Car.
The sale of city land to private owners hinges on each project getting various city approvals.
The other two parcels in the subdivision are owned by the city and the state. The state acquired its parcel in a recent land swap with the city because it plans to extend passenger rail service along the highway to Brunswick.
 
Attention to Bayside reveals its social ills


NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY
Much of Bayside is built on filled land. The neighborhood's tidal waters originally extended as far inland as Cumberland Avenue. After 1790, development began between Green and Fiddle streets, now Forest Avenue and Franklin Arterial.

In the 19th century Bayside housed an ethnically diverse population, including many immigrants who worked in its potteries, tanneries and distilleries. Ships sailed into Back Cove to transport goods and services.

The Great Fire of 1866 touched the district but did not destroy it. Demolished structures were used as fill to extend the neighborhood further into Back Cove.

As Portland expanded, residents moved away from Bayside. The area was in decline by the 1920s when The Slum Clearance and Redevelopment Authority was created to address the area's deterioration. But the area still had more than 2,000 residents in the late 1960s.

In the 1990s, an EPA grant funded a Brownfield's project to clean up industrial waste in the neighborhood.Unity Village, 33 affordable housing units built by the city, opened in 2001.

SOURCE: Participatory Planning in Portland's Bayside Neighborhood, Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, October 2001.

-- Staff researcher Julia McCue


For six years, Portland's effort to revitalize Bayside has focused on attracting commercial investment, encouraging affordable housing and getting rid of two scrap-metal recycling yards.
Little has been said publicly about the neighborhood's long-standing role as southern Maine's social service hub -- including two homeless shelters and related support programs -- and how that might clash with the city's redevelopment goals.
Police say arrests for drugs, prostitution and property crimes are up 27 percent in Bayside over last year.
Residents complain of intoxicated people sleeping on porches and in back yards, defecating in bushes, or dealing drugs. Some say these problems are getting worse. Others say they're nothing new.
"There's not really a rise in crime. It's just people are noticing it now," said Nathlie Hansen, one of Portland's homeless people.
Most agree the shelters and social service programs aren't going anywhere soon. But most also agree the city and other agencies need to spend more time and money on the growing friction in Bayside in order for its transformation to succeed.
"It's already hurting us and it's going to continue to hurt us. People have a threshold of what they're willing to stand and then they're going to leave the community," said Ronald Spinella, chairman of the Bayside Neighborhood Association and owner of 3 Fish Guild, an art gallery on Cumberland Avenue.
Changes have already started, with a Whole Foods supermarket under construction on Franklin Arterial and several office buildings and apartment complexes in various stages of development. Portland officials also have plans to move the scrap yards and public works facilities to Riverside Street, on the outskirts of the city.
Bayside covers a dozen square blocks along Interstate 295, from Franklin Arterial to Forest Avenue and from Cumberland Avenue to Marginal Way. It has long been a largely industrial district with few commercial and residential areas.
But it also hosts a variety of local, state and nonprofit agencies, including job placement programs, a soup kitchen and the city's health clinic for homeless people.
In 2000, the city issued "A New Vision For Bayside," a redevelopment guide calling for the formation of a stakeholders' group to preserve the neighborhood's role as a social service center.
The city is forming that group now after concerns about increased crime, said Douglas Gardner, Portland's director of health and human services, which operates the Oxford Street Shelter and a family shelter on Myrtle Street.
Gardner said few problems originate at the shelters, especially at the Oxford Street Shelter where a police officer is assigned each night. But he acknowledged problems may be caused by people who are turned away from the 154-bed adult shelter because they're too intoxicated.
With that in mind, Gardner said he sees addiction as the major problem that must be addressed as the city moves ahead with Bayside's revitalization. He said the city and its social service partners must improve outreach and treatment for substance abuse.
According to police, calls for emergency services are up 8 percent, from 6,789in the first nine months of 2005 to 7,382 during the same period this year. Arrests are up 27 percent this year, from 288 to 393, said Police Chief Timothy Burton, who is part of the stakeholders' group.
Burton said it's unclear whether crime is up or simply being reported more often. Regardless, he's not surprised by the spike in arrests or complaints.
"Friction is natural when a neighborhood is going through change," Burton said. "It's a question of how it manifests itself and what we do about it."
To that end, Portland officials are considering a variety of law enforcement options, such as strengthening the "disorderly house" ordinance, which would allow city officials to shut down apartment buildings where criminal activity takes place undeterred by landlords.
Officials say crime in Bayside is high for a neighborhood of about 1,000 homeowners and apartment dwellers. But that number is boosted each day by several hundred homeless people and others who visit Bayside for food, shelter and other services, said Jon Bradley, assistant director of Preble Street, which operates a resource center and other programs.
Friction between the homeless and homeowners is expected to intensify as more of Portland's wooded areas are developed, such as the former "hobo jungle" where the I-295 connector was built last year along the Fore River. As a result, officials said, homeless people who usually camp out are moving to wooded areas of South Portland and Westbrook.
But each day they return to Portland for food and services, joining others who visit and live in Bayside because it offers many of the programs they need to survive, said Laurel Merchant, a homeless woman who is a peer advocate and community educator.
Merchant said she and others don't see where they fit in the new "vision" for Bayside. She said city officials and others must find a place for homeless people and other social service recipients in the neighborhood's future.
"These people are seeing that their home is going to be gone," Merchant said. "They're not seeing the benefits that everyone else is seeing. They're seeing the city making it harder for them to get along. The city needs to reach out to the homeless before they build more buildings."
Staff Writer Kelley Bouchard can be reached at 791-6328 or
kbouchard@pressherald.com


Reader comments

susan of biddeford, me
Oct 15, 2006 9:03 AM
i grew up in portland.
why do you have to transform this neighborhood and boot out those who are considered "undesirable"?
changing a neighborhood takes time. why not do what toronto did many years ago? one street low-income, next street-midincome, and the next high-income and businesses sprinkled in to have it a great neighborhood!

Dave of Skowhegan, me
Oct 15, 2006 8:42 AM
Portland should be cutting social services not adding more.
 
Editorial Bayside is a journey of many 'next steps'

Portland Press Herald Monday, October 16, 2006

The long-awaited and much debated evolution of Portland is slowly taking shape.
The latest good news comes as Portland's Planning Board approved the subdivision of city land in Bayside, taking the "next step" in the redevelopment of the area along Marginal Way near the intersection with Preble Street.
Bayside and the waterfront are two critical areas as Portland looks to remake and improve itself. Bayside represents the biggest makeover opportunity, as the city continues the transformation of an industrial area through mixed-use redevelopment.
The plan here is highlighted by an eight-story office building, flanked by a five-story Bayside Village Student Housing apartment building. A third parcel seems likely to have a remodeled Miss Portland Diner.
The Bayside project promises to bring a sorely needed sense of identity to this section of Marginal Way.
At present, the area suffers from the noisy presence of I-295. The office building and student apartments, however, will form a barrier between the highway and Marginal Way -- enhancing the streetside aspects of Marginal Way.
Planners should continue to emphasize the street-level aesthetics of the project. For example, the decision to incorporate a parking garage into the Intermed office building plan was a good move. The lure of a authentic, iconic diner is another.
Pedestrian traffic in this area will certainly increase, considering the introduction of 100 student apartments and the lunchtime strolling of office workers next door. The presence of two natural foods stores that already exist across the street will also amplify foot traffic.
The four lanes of Marginal Way present somewhat of a barrier to foot-traffic synergy with the surrounding area, but it's a small issue compared to what's been overcome thus far.


Reader comments

Steven Scharf of Port;land, ME
Oct 16, 2006 10:20 AM
A 100 foot wide road is a small issue?

Bayside is intended to be a "pedstrian friendly transit oreinted district". Everything being developed contines the city homage to the car and other vehicles. You missed the fact that the city planning board just approved a 7 story 700 car parking garage although the developer (the city) does not have the financial authority to build it.

Steven Scharf
SCSMedia@aol.com
 
an article in todays paper said waterview has 2/3 units under contract and plans to begin construction this spring (2 years too late!). sorry im nto posting this one, at least not now...too tired.
 
Homeless benefits aplenty in Bayside
Speaking about the homeless in Bayside, "peer advocate" Laurel Merchant states, "They're not seeing the benefits that everyone else is seeing" ("Attention to Bayside reveals its social ills," Oct. 15).
This is incorrect. Free meals every day are a benefit. Free nightly accommodations are a benefit. Free medical care and prescription drugs are benefits. Access to "related support programs" like public housing and other entitlements is a benefit.
The reason there are problems in Bayside is because that area offers so many benefits to the homeless. Taxes from Bayside residents and business owners help fund these benefits.
"Community educators" like Merchant who state the city "must find a place for homeless people" don't see the absurdity of insisting that those who generate tax revenues increase support for those who consume tax revenue, especially when these same consumers cause an increase in "drugs, prostitution and property crime."
No wonder businessmen like Mr. Ronald Spinella are thinking of leaving a neighborhood where the people who pass out in his backyard demand that he help pay the cost of their daily maintenance.
Parker Gardner
Portland
 
061017condo1.jpg

Finish carpenter David Haseltine works on one of the higher-priced condo units at 547A Congress St. last week.
061017condo2.jpg

Tom Moulton, developer of the 547A Congress St. project, stands in one of the units with a view of Back Cove. The condos, with wood floors and brick walls, are meant to resemble New York City lofts.
061017condo3.jpg

The condos at 547A Congress St. range in price from $165,000 for a studio to $650,000 for a 3,000-square-foot unit. Sixteen of the 18 units have already been sold.

Market stalls, condos follow


Last December, developers of a proposed Westin hotel/condominium complex in downtown Portland were confidently predicting that they'd quickly get deposits on the project's 97 luxury units and break ground during the summer. By March, they now acknowledge, only a dozen hopeful buyers had put down money.
"The timing was off," said Tom Niles, executive vice president for development at The Procaccianti Group. "I think people were starting to pull back and wait on the sidelines."
Timing. The widely repeated mantra in real estate is location. But market timing can be just as crucial, although not as easy to recognize.
That's especially true for the handful of major, mixed-use condominium development plans that have attracted so much publicity in Maine's largest city. These are complicated, expensive ventures that can take years to approve, finance and construct. Their fate is influenced by unforeseen shifts in the overall economy, interest rates and construction costs. To date, none has been built.
By contrast, some smaller projects that either involved renovating existing buildings or were aimed at mid-level buyers have moved forward. Faster to bring on line, they were in the right locations at the right time.
Earlier this month, The Procaccianti Group of Rhode Island asked the city for a one-year extension of its site-plan approval. The developer was essentially saying that it had missed the latest wave of demand for high-end condominiums in Portland and would position itself for the next surge.
"Markets go in waves," Niles said. "And they don't all go at the same time."
The image of real estate markets moving up and down in waves is an apt description. As early as 2004, Niles said, there was a perception that the wave was cresting in some big-city condo markets.
But Procaccianti expected the wave to continue rising in Portland, when Michael Liberty, principal in the South Portland-based Liberty Cos. and a partner in the venture, first proposed the $110 million project.
Procaccianti was banking on a mixed-use strategy to help reduce risk. Its primary goal was to build a profitable, four-star hotel in downtown Portland. To offset the cost and reduce daily room rates, developers wanted to underwrite the hotel with luxury condos, with prices ranging from $500,000 to $1 million.
This formula was familiar to Procaccianti. It recently bought The Westin Providence Hotel, which has 364 rooms. Next door it is building a 380-foot tower with retail space, interior parking, 200 new guest rooms and 105 condominiums.
Procaccianti had lined up financing for Portland, Niles said. But it wanted 30 percent of the condo units under contract before moving ahead. When that didn't happen, the company first considered scaling back, then decided to put the entire venture on hold. It also listed the site for sale -- to keep its options open, the company said.
Procaccianti now plans to tear down the former Jordan Meats plant and develop a parking lot in the interim. If it moves forward with development, the redesign is likely to feature a different mix of hotel rooms, condos, retail and office space. The company needs to envision the market in 2009, though. It will take roughly 22 months just to build the project.
Major, high-end condo projects have been difficult to develop in Portland, in part because there's really nothing comparable in the market.
That has been one challenge facing Riverwalk LLC, which is developing The Longfellow, a 116-unit luxury condo project across from the city's Ocean Gateway cruise-ship terminal. The company plans to start construction in December on an adjacent, 719-space parking garage, aided by special zoning and tax breaks from the city. It plans to begin the condos sometime next spring, with starting prices of $500,000.
To gauge demand, the developer examined sales at existing luxury condos, such as Chandler's Wharf. It reviewed where buyers came from and their current home values. It also looked at pre-sales of luxury condos in Boston, Providence and other nearby markets.
This information only helps shape rough projections, said Tim Seekamp, president of Harborview Properties, which is owned by one of the Riverwalk LLC partners. While these figures were being gathered, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the global demand for building materials sent prices for concrete and steel up nearly 30 percent.
"It makes it difficult to put a number on what a project really costs to build," said Seekamp, who also was involved in marketing The Westin project.
The Longfellow, which has been in the works for roughly three years, is gaining momentum now, thanks to a recently formed partnership with Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. of Boston, a large real estate investment firm and developer.
Nick Iselin, the company's director of development and construction, said he'd like to have 20 percent to 30 percent of the condo units under contract before breaking ground, but expects it will take up to two years to sell every unit.
"We have a long time to market this product," he said.
The projects that have moved ahead so far are smaller ventures that target a niche, such as young professionals or empty-nesters who want to live in the downtown arts and business district. They include a handful of projects along and near Congress Street, including Kimball Court, 537 Lofts, Chestnut Street Lofts and 547A Winslow Lofts.
Tom Moulton, who is redeveloping the building at 547A Congress St., said he has sold 16 of the 18 available units, which range in price from $165,000 for a studio to $650,000 for a 3,000-square-foot unit. His project, which features New York City loft-style living with brick walls and hardwood floors, is nearly complete. It took 16 months to build and cost $4.5 million.
"At the time we did it," he said, "banks were willing to lend for speculative development."
The passage of time has been a mixed blessing for Jeff Cohen and Waterview Development LLC.
His company has been trying for nearly two years to build a 12-story, 94-unit project on Cumberland Avenue. He endured a court challenge from neighbors, which lasted more than a year. Now he's negotiating a construction loan and said he hopes to break ground this spring on the $25 million project. Roughly two-thirds of the units are under contract, he said, for prices ranging from $285,000 to $495,000.
The delay hurt him, Cohen said, because construction prices rose and demand softened. But in the long run, he said, the market should be in better shape when he starts building next year.
Staff Writer Tux Turkel can be contacted at 791-6462 or at:
tturkel@pressherald.com


Reader comments

Scott of Wilton, ME
Oct 17, 2006 11:22 PM
tw,

Traditional Maine values include a world class work ethic (we still speak english in our stores), close relationship to the land (we actually know the name of the stream running through the our property), hunting, fishing, public access on private land (instead of protesting and posting your land), tolerance of wildlife instead of whining when a turkey craps in your backyard, stopping to assist someone in need of help (we're not egocentric robots like many of those south of the border), weekends at the camp with family and friends, campfires on the beach, target practice in the backyard, country music, actually taking a truck off pavement and getting dirty, being able to farm without transplants complaining about the aroma of chicken manure, and enjoying bean hole beans actually cooked in the ground. We don't much care what you do, so long as you don't threaten the lifestyle we have chosen. This ethic is not as strong in southern maine, due to the dilution effect. There's a big state outside of Portland. We have respect for privacy and more tolerance than you give us credit for. Yes, we may have trailers, but you have whole towns that are slums; Chelsea, Everett, Lawrence, etc,. In other more "affluent" towns, the neighbors don't even know each others names. Perhaps you can't comprehend this since you didn't grow up in Maine. Many people from away develop an appreciation for this, while others remain numb. In regards to state employment, I imagine narsicism exists to some extent in all state governments, but by no means is it a job requirement. Maybe you ought to explore other means to enhance your resume so you will be more competitive next time you apply.

Vince of Portland, ME
Oct 17, 2006 4:38 PM
There is this odd arrogance that exists among many Mainers. I am born and raised in Maine, but I spent about 6 years in Boston. My time in Boston taught me that the only major differences between Massachusetts and Maine are the existence of high tech companies and realism.

tw
Oct 17, 2006 4:09 PM
To Steve, others,...exactly what are the "traditional maine culture and values" that have been so special? Seems to me Maine people having been screwing over other mainers for decades.

Maine crime rates were worse 20-30 years ago before rich outsiders started moving in,sex offenders in todays maine headlinenews always seem to have offenses that go back decades in the state, and every mainer knows 'you can not get a local or state job unless your related to another mainer'.

So explain why traditional maine culture and values are all that treasured? Sorry, in my opinion mainers are and have been quite mean to each other for a long time.

joan of portland, me
Oct 17, 2006 4:05 PM
Hey Joanne and tw I hate to break it to you but the people who act like you describe are bitter transplants who came here thinking they would be wealthy. For the most part their wealth has been eaten up by high cost of living or taxes, not the way they thought life should be. Native Mainers know that we don't have good paying jobs here and the cost of living and taxes is outrageous, we either stay or leave we are not bitter trailer trash. If you look back into history you will find that some of the worlds most wealthy people have been living or summering in Maine because we aren't overly impressed with them and bother them. Here in Maine there are many people who could buy and sell you a million times over but for the most part we are not showboats. Perhaps you've mistaken our respecting others space (and pride in ourselves) for jealosy. I'm terribly sorry you feel that way but I hope it makes you stay away or go back where you came from.

Joanne of South Portland, ME
Oct 17, 2006 3:24 PM
I totally agree with you tc! I've been in Maine for about 18 years now from the New York area, and I find that many Mainers give anyone with more than they have the cold shoulder. Like it's wrong if you're not as you put it "Trailer Trash Mainers".

Scott of Wilton, ME
Oct 17, 2006 2:31 PM
tw,

I need to elaborate on your comment. The perceived distain for "richies from away" is not their wealth, but the changing demographic they represent. Maine, especially southern Maine, is becoming a choice site for "the beautiful people." These folks are considered a threat to the traditional maine culture and values. People move here and attempt to change the state, rather than appreciating the qualities that have made it a great place to live for natives and those from away. Personally, I'd rather more successful people move here than those more despondent folk that have nothing to contribute, yet expect to be recipients of lifelong social services.

tw
Oct 17, 2006 1:57 PM
WOW! I thought Maine was an all American patriotic state. Your typical resident seems to hate people with any wealth above a pickup truck and a trailer for a home.

Ever consider moving to a communist country? How about North Korea?

Kate of Portland, ME
Oct 17, 2006 1:23 PM
I could not afford a 500K condo or house anywhere. Not at this point in my life, anyway. Yet, I don't see a reason to be jealous and irritated about the fact that others *can.*

So what if you pass someone in Monument Square who lives in a million dollar condo? You're just as likely to stand in line at the bank next to someone who lives in a million dollar house in Falmouth. Again, so what?

Where people choose to settle with their wealth is really not my concern. I don't think we're in danger of having Portland turn into Beverly Hills, California.

*breathe*

John of Camden, ME
Oct 17, 2006 12:52 PM
Well, Sally G, I didn't think I was whining. I was thinking of what kind of lunatic would shell out $500,000 for a condo on smelly old Congress Street?

A condo in NYC gives you access to a vast metropolis. A condo on Congress Street gives you access to morning social anomie with vagrants living in your doorwell, boarded up storefronts across the way, about 4 months of frigid snow-covered city landscape, and limited cultural resources.

In terms of value, it just isn't there. But I suppose there's a sucker born every minute for every opportunist developer trying his dernest to cash in before things peak.

tw of boston, ma
Oct 17, 2006 12:28 PM
For you former New Yorkers,i could have told years ago 'moving from NY City to Portland,Maine' is a lateral move.

Check out the higher rates of Rape,burglary,larceny theft rates compared to NY City:

http://portlandme.areaconnect.com/crime/compare.htm?c1=Portland&s1=ME&c2=new+york&s2=NY
 
PORTLAND: Board will discuss plans for housing, drug clinic
The Portland Planning Board will hold a public hearing tonight on a proposed student housing complex on Marginal Way.
The public hearing is scheduled to begin at 7:30 in room 209 at Portland City Hall.
Southern Maine Student Housing is proposing a five--story, 100--unit complex across the street from Wild Oats Market.
The board is also scheduled to discuss a Massachusetts company's plan to open a methadone clinic on Congress Street. Community Substance Abuse Centers is asking for change-of-use approval to renovate the building at 2300 Congress St., which was last occupied by Idexx Laboratories, Inc.

Kevin Beal of Portland, ME
Oct 24, 2006 8:19 AM
Re: Planning Board meeting / Marginal Way Student Housing.

The applicant has requested that this matter be tabled to November 14, 2006, and the request is likely to be granted. So, for those members of the public who are interested in the Marginal Way student housing proposal, please note that the Planning Board will NOT be considering this application tonight.

Kevin Beal
Chair, Portland Planning Board
 
Bayside garage RFP

Renderings of the Bayside garage and hoped-for redevelopment nearby. While it's unlikely that the buildings along Somerset Street will actually look like this, this is a good indication of what the city wants, and will allow, in the area.

dtcurrent_Page_35_Image_0001.jpg


Note the existing development facing Marginal Way: a big sea of parking lots for the Health and Human Services building (left side) and Wild Oats (lower right), which soon may be run out of business by the new Whole Foods (upper left, with a big parking lot of its own). Also visible is the proposed new Miss Portland Diner, at the end of Chestnut Street on Marginal Way (lower left). The proposed Pearl Place housing is out of sight in this perspective.

dtcurrent_Page_37_Image_0001.jpg


These are from a PDF of "current backup material" (it's actually from two months ago) on the Downtown Portland Corporation web site: http://www.portlandmaine.gov/downtown.htm.
 
wow! You are my new best friend! That is tremendous material you stumbled across! What n earth is that in the very lower right? I hope it is the corner of a building top, it sure looks like it is! What a good opportunity for the city to make vast improvements, i hope they use it wisely! And whole foods has been purchased by the new grocer down there on franklin arterial (the one under const.) so i think it is going out of business when the new one opens up.
 
Patrick said:
wow! You are my new best friend! That is tremendous material you stumbled across! What n earth is that in the very lower right? I hope it is the corner of a building top, it sure looks like it is! What a good opportunity for the city to make vast improvements, i hope they use it wisely! And whole foods has been purchased by the new grocer down there on franklin arterial (the one under const.) so i think it is going out of business when the new one opens up.

Patrick, did you see the article in today's PPH ragarding the sale of the "Time and Temperature Building" at 477 Congress St. that it was sold to a group out of NY. Jeffrey Cohen bought in 2003 for $9.5 mil. and sold 3 years later for $13 mil. Not bad!! He says at the end of the article that he plans construction to begin on Waterview next year (heard that before). Source today tells me that Waterview is very unlikey to ever get built due the fact that the market for Condos is very soft and the Waterview location is not very attractive (I agree). He thinks JC will take the money and run.
 
I agree, if I were cohen I would do the same. But in the future he may change his mind. That is still a very attractive spot given its location to back bay tower and congress street. if settles parking and makes it easier he would make tons.
 
N.Y. firm purchases downtown landmark

061208building.jpg



A New York real estate investment firm has bought 477 Congress St., the Portland office tower known as the Time and Temperature Building for the big flashing sign on its roof.
Brooklyn-based Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates, owned by the Dolgin family, said it acquired the 14-story building and an adjacent 436-space parking garage from developer Jeffrey Cohen for $13 million. The deal closed Wednesday.
Josh Dolgin, vice president of Kalmon Dolgin, said the 102-year-old firm has been interested in Portland since it bid on the Libra Foundation's properties in the city earlier this year.
Dolgin said the firm finished second behind Guggenheim Real Estate in the battle for seven downtown properties totaling nearly 725,000 square feet of office space and 1,000 parking spaces.
Dolgin declined to say how much his firm bid for the real estate, and the actual sale price for those buildings wasn't disclosed, but he said Kalmon Dolgin and Guggenheim engaged in "a lot of back and forth" bidding for the properties. The Libra Foundation was asking $65 million for its holdings in the city, which included the three Canal Plaza buildings; a Fore Street parking garage and adjacent lot; 465 Congress St.; and the Portland Public Market building and garage.
"We wound up in second place there," Dolgin said. But CB Richard Ellis/The Boulos Co., which handled the Libra Foundation transaction, told Kalmon Dolgin that other downtown properties were for sale.
"They thought this was a very good fit for us," Dolgin said of the 82-year-old building.
Dolgin said his firm will make improvements, but the digital sign "absolutely" will remain. He said his firm generally waits about six months before deciding on specific projects to undertake.
"We recognize the building's importance in the history of Portland and the skyline," he said. "We just intend to enhance that and bring it into more prominence."
The building's tenants include law firms, banks and a street-level television studio for WMTW-TV, Channel 8. Dolgin said the market for office space in Portland is stable with low vacancy rates, and that 477 Congress has a history of strong occupancy rates and good cash flow.
Dolgin said his company owns 7 million square feet of office and industrial space around the country and is interested in additional purchases in Portland.
"We like critical mass and would definitely like to build on this," he said. "We think Portland is a fantastic city and very vibrant. We definitely will be looking for more investments up there."
Dolgin said there's also a family connection to the city. His wife, Rebecca McCarthy, is from Portland.
Cohen, who bought the building from the Libra Foundation in 2003 for $9.5 million, could not be reached for comment on the Congress Street sale.
Cohen also is developing the Waterview at Bayside condominium project at the corner of Cumberland and Forest avenues.
That $25 million, 94-unit project has been in the works for more than two years. Cohen has said he plans to begin construction next year.
 

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