redeveloping the Maine state pier

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Patrick

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City calls for Pier RFPs

Anyone who wants to redevelop Portland's Maine State Pier must have proven financial ability and experience doing similar projects, according to a draft request for proposals released Tuesday.
The project is expected to draw national interest, including development teams with local partners and financial backing from outside Maine, one potential applicant said.
Portland officials say they are seeking private partners to lease and redevelop the 84-year-old pier because it faces a $160,000 revenue shortfall this year and needs more than $13 million worth of repairs over the next 15 years.
The six-page draft request includes more than 20 criteria that must be addressed in any proposal, said City Councilor James Cloutier, chairman of the council's community development committee.
The committee will seek public comment on the draft during a meeting starting at 5 p.m. today at City Hall.
Cloutier said the request for proposals, which will be advertised nationally soon after a final version is approved, tries to address many critics' concerns about the city's controversial proposal to redevelop the pier at Commercial Street and Franklin Arterial.
"The (request for proposals) is written to allow maximum flexibility," Cloutier said. "We have not prejudged what world-class marine operators might bring to the table for ideas."
Some aspects of the draft request remain up for debate, he said, such as how long developers would have to respond.
Proposed uses for the pier and a large shed, formerly occupied by Bath Iron Works and Cianbro Corp., have been the focus of controversy for several months.
The council rezoned the pier last month to allow commercial redevelopment of the 7-acre industrial site.
The new zoning and the request for proposals aim to preserve deep-water berthing, enhance public access and complement the working waterfront.
The new zoning prohibits residential uses, amusement parks, marine-related waste processing, bulk freight facilities and gambling casinos.
A hotel could be built on city land near the pier but not on the pier itself.
Ocean Properties Ltd., a large hotel development company based in Portsmouth, N.H., has expressed interest in redeveloping the pier.
Its principal owner is a Bangor native, Thomas Walsh. Robert Baldacci, brother of Gov. John Baldacci, is the company's vice president of development.
Some city planners and others said the new zoning was rushed, lacked community involvement and veered from the city's long-standing goal to protect the working waterfront.
Others said it was unfair for the city to rezone its waterfront property while limiting the development rights of private pier owners.
Critics included John Anton, a former Planning Board member who heads a housing development financing firm.
Anton said he's putting together a team to submit a redevelopment proposal for the pier.
Anton said ensuring that developers have the money and experience to do the pier project means few local people will have the capacity to do the job without backing from outside Maine.
Anton also said the city should give developers six to nine months to submit proposals. Anything less would greatly limit the number and quality of proposals, he said.
Staff Writer Kelley Bouchard can be reached at 791-6328 or
 
Hey look at this old thread I found from 2006....

Anyhow, did anyone make it to the meeting last night concerning the history of the pier, held at Ocean Gateway?

They are having a couple more meetings in a couple weeks, which I might be able to attend. FMI: http://www.portlandmaine.gov/planning/mainestatepierinfo.asp

I also signed up for the community design workshop on Saturday, April 11th. Looks interesting.
 
The Maine State Pier is back in the news....The Portland Daily Sun printed an article about studying the feasibility of using it as a mixed use site for an arts project.
The mentions using the site for a project similiar to one already in Australia. Here is the article:

Group to explore arts use for state pier
By Matt Dodge
Dec 08, 2010 12:00 am
More than two years after a high-profile development deal died, the Maine State Pier is once again being studied for a "long-shot visionary use" ? this time for a mixed arts use for the property.

The city-backed Creative Portland Corporation discussed forming a formal waterfront project task force during their monthly meeting last Wednesday.

The task force, led by Patrick Costin, a principal at architecture and planning firm Harriman Associates, would explore the possibility of using the pier as a cultural center and tourist attraction with an arts focus, one that would attract those who arrive by cruise ship and visit the Old Port area.

?This is a sort of long-shot, visionary thing, it?s going to take passion and commitment to see if it has legs,? said Costin.

Long mired in a debate over its proper use and seen by some as an ideal site for a hotel or conference center, Costin knows his proposal is something of an underdog amidst larger commercial interests, but wants to give it a try.

?We're going to take a run at this to see if there is there an alternative that would allow the Maine State Pier to be a place where art is produced, displayed and exhibited,? Costin said. ?In terms of its status within the CPC, there is no proposal for the CPC to respond to right now, so it?s a very exploratory idea,? he said.

The idea for a mixed use arts space at the pier was first explored when an ad-hoc committee was formed to propose a project for an National Endowment for the Arts grant.

?There was an idea that emerged that the pier might offer an opportunity for something other then a hotel or office building or ship docking,? said Costin.

?The city sees [the pier] as a very valuable piece of real estate that could potentially add to the tax base. The model the city has pursued so far is to try and leverage private investment as a means of rehabilitating and redeveloping the pier,? said Costin.

?But that model places private development interest at the center of the redevelopment process. My thought is, is there an alternative where it could be more for the public? Or still a public/private collaboration not focused commercial development but more of a creative economy model?? said Costin.

Enter Laura Burden, a urban planner who during the NEA grant process called the committee?s attention to the Jam Factory, a mixed use art space located in Adelaide, South Australia, which converted a former factory into a contemporary craft and design facility for the design, production, exhibition and sale of work by leading and emerging Australian designers and craftspeople.

Operating for the last 37 years, the facility has four studios work in the areas of ceramics, furniture, metal and glass work, as well as a retail space where artists can market their wares. ?They had a similar concept that was very successful,? said Costin.

The committee eventually decided to put their support for the $250,000 NEA grant behind a proposal for a outdoor video screen for the Portland Public Library.

Costin said the CPC board had reservations about supporting a proposal that would directly oppose plans put forth by the city for the state pier.

?The notion was that the grant would fund the development of a feasibility study for this idea, and one of the concerns was there had already been enormous investment of time and effort by the city pursuing a particular pathway,? said Costin.

Following the grant process, ?Laura [Burden] disappeared,? according to Costin, but she didn?t stay away for long. ?Now she has come back with some energy around this idea and an interest in pursing it,? he said.

?The broad notion is that the pier is a public asset and offers a great opportunity as a cultural center,? Costin said.

Asked by the CPC?s Valerie Lamont if he would consider any other location for such a project, Costin said he is ?open minded,? but ?the pier latched onto my imagination because I'm interested in not having it be like everywhere else.?

CPC board member Andy Graham said the decision to revisit ideas for the pier is part of a new, more proactive CPC. ?We?re tying to change the paradigm a little bit and look at it as being more action oriented,? said Graham.

In that vein, the CPC proposed creating 10 task forces at Wednesday?s meeting, focusing on everything from their LiveWork Portland website to uses for empty storefronts.

Established in 2008, CPC's specific mission is to promote jobs in the creative sectors, attracting creative business to city in the form of artisans, writers, designers and manufacturers.

The group shares jurisdiction and a executive director with the Portland Arts and Cultural Alliance, a fellow arts organization who will also contribute members to some of the task forces.

Costin said he will be meeting with Burden on Friday to once again explore the idea of integrating the waterfront into Portland?s creative economy.

.
 
I'm not an anti-arts person, but when I hear "arts"......all I can think of is an unsustainable money loser.

One thing that I am really surprised about is that Portland was never able to develop an Aquarium. Are there not enough tourists that visit Portland to support an aquarium?
 
Thanks for sharing that, toddc. The Creative Portland Corporation (http://www.portlandmaine.gov/creativeportlandcorp.htm) does a good job and I look forward to seeing what the task force comes up with in regards to this idea.


mainejeff said:
One thing that I am really surprised about is that Portland was never able to develop an Aquarium. Are there not enough tourists that visit Portland to support an aquarium?
Click to expand...

I bring this up every once and a while also. I think Portland has great potential to host an aquarium of some sort and that there are some good places downtown where it would fit in well. I'm generally very pro-development and am glad to see a new hotel/condo project every few years, but at some point it seems like there are a thousand hotel rooms and not much to do. Downtown could always benefit from some new attractions that appeal to a broad audience, such as an aquarium. Is there an aquarium anywhere in Maine?
 
The Maine Aquarium was supposed to reopen in Saco, I'm not sure that ever happened. Portland seems like a better choice, and would seem to be a more lucrative choice. I sometimes think the members of this board should share their ideas with the city....many great ideas mentioned on here.
I wonder what else would go along with a redeveloped state pier....it's a great piece of property, prime for sone good redevelopment.
 
Todd, I agree, that Portland would be the better and more logical choice. That said, if we continue to sit on our hands and do nothing (there have been plans to open an aquarium here for decades), then more power to Saco for taking the initiative.

I can't speak for others on here, but I most certainly do share my ideas with the City from time to time. What I mostly hear back is that "we agree, but x y & z..."

It is getting at the x y & z that will make the difference, as I think the mindset is already in place.
 
Just east of the MSP is this site
162735_656571014330_6903714_38006162_7596329_n.jpg


This site has been contemplated for development for years.
 
i just want to clarify, when I said people should share with the ideas, I was meaning more in the form of a coalition, a venue for Portland residents to be proactive in the city's development process.

The site just east of Maine State Pier looks like an area with great potential.
 
^ I see. I have often thought of that, but am not sure how it would function. I think a couple of people on here would be suitable planning board or council members.

I agree the site looks to have great potential, but wonder if it really does since it has sat there so long. Once the eastern waterfront is redeveloped, that will help this area for sure.
 
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