Thompson's Point, Portland

I totally agree Allagash, an outdoor summer venue that can accommodate 12-15,000 would be a wonderful addition to Greater Portland. I hate the drive to Meadowbrook and to venture two hours north to Bangor is ridiculous. I also see Dr S's point of starting out modest with the ability to expand capacity quickly if the demand is there which I feel it will be immediately.
 
Fair enough. I just don't want to see them get in over their heads there and have it not work out for whatever reason. Then we'd end up with valuable wasted space on Thompson's Point. I also have to wonder if a large 12,000-15,000 capacity outdoor concert venue as a neighbor would impede some potential residential and more importantly commercial/office tenants from moving to Thompson's Point. Some people may have no problem living nearby, especially younger professionals, but it's questionable if office and commercial tenants would be eager to set up shop right next door to that.

Personally I think the old Blue Rock (currently Pike) quarry on the Westbrook/Portland line would be the perfect location for a large outdoor amphitheater in Greater Portland. There's a ton of land available for parking lots; there are multiple access points from both local roads and I-95; it's on a main bus line; and it's a giant hole in the ground and surrounded by berms that would act as a natural sound buffer (to an extent). Fill the pit back in with a slope towards one end and put the stage at the bottom, with an access road down one side for trucks, tour buses, equipement, etc.
 
The original investment in the entire Thompson's Point project was around $100 million if my memory serves me correctly. If the developers are going to be concerned about getting in over their heads with the modest costs of a "seasonal" outdoor concert venue I will have real worries whether anything substantial will ever get built. To this point the project has been nothing more than a "smoke and mirrors" show with a few cosmetic touches topped off by a flying circus act. I do wish them well and hope something wonderful happens to the site.

You may be correct with residential issues involving noise and crowds but I think any concerts will be scheduled during the evenings and weekends and should have little or no impact on commercial/office interests. The biggest downside to the TP location for concerts in my opinion is it's physical location, there is only one way in and one way out not counting boat or ferry transportation. Police and Fire emergencies could also be a negative factor.

I like your thoughts on the former Blue Rock quarry Dr. S and I am by no means hung up on the notion that it has to be located within Portland city limits, it will be a regional asset and I think it will be a positive addition wherever it is built.
 
From an article in today's Press Herald on the Red Claws paying for improved seats in the Expo:

Ryan [Bill Ryan Jr., principal owner of the Red Claws] was once an investor in a potential development project at Thompson’s Point that could have included a new home for the Red Claws, but no longer. The team recently extended its lease agreement with the city from 2019 to 2024, plus an option for five more years.

“If they were to do something, we would look at it,” Ryan said of the 32-acre site along the Fore River, “but now we needed to do something here to make our fans more comfortable, knowing that we’re going to be here for some stretch of time.”
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Since the first major thing I was hoping to see from the project was the arena (and improved sightlines for wheelchairs), this is depressing. Does anyone know anything about the Suburban Propane relocation? I haven't seen any activity out on Riverside St.
 
The latest Thompson's Point master plan revision is being workshopped by the Planning Board Tuesday night. The agenda with links to the plans is here; the latest rev does not plan to make any exterior changes to the existing Brick North and South buildings, but they do plan to make interior renovations to them. The rest of the plan is largely intact including the hotel, events center and garage. I'm not sure what's going to happen to their Tree of 40 Fruit.
 
From Tuesday evening:

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The latest site plan revisions are before the Planning Board; they were due for review this past week, but the developers asked for a postponement to January. However, the plans, etc. are still posted on the city website.
 
Thanks for the heads up ^. Hopefully the ball keeps on rolling with this development.
 
I'd like to see an aquarium on the Point. I still can't understand why a tourist city whose entire existence is based on the ocean STILL doesn't have a world class aquarium.

Also would like to see a New England Craft Beer Museum....seems like a natural for the area.

And maybe a Dave & Busters as well as a couple of 6-10 story condo towers.
 
New article on Thompson's Point.

The opening of Brick South in March with an already-booked beer and music festival will kick off a series of additions at Thompson’s Point, he said. Other facilities in the works include a 135-room hotel, a 58-unit apartment complex, and a standalone building for an organization that Thompson would not specify but has been reported as being the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine. All three projects will break ground in 2017, he said. The hotel is the most complex piece under development and is scheduled to open in the summer of 2019.

Another component of Thompson’s Point that is in the planning phase is an 80,000-square-foot office building, Thompson said. He also is seeking approval for a boat dock that would accommodate a ferry service between Thompson’s Point and the Old Port.
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I've been talking about a water taxi of that nature since the project was first proposed, but unfortunately the article doesn't really talk about what the latest site plan looks like (and it only talks about the arena in past tense).
 
The Old Port - Thompson's Point ferry is a novel idea. Not exactly the most scenic boat ride in the world but I can definitely see how it could draw tourists who would normally never stray further west than center st.
 
mainejeff said:
I'd like to see an aquarium on the Point. I still can't understand why a tourist city whose entire existence is based on the ocean STILL doesn't have a world class aquarium.
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I used to go to the Gulf of Maine Aquarium barge when I was a kid; it was on Long Wharf before Tony DiMillo bought that and opened it up for the floating restaurant, marina and parking. Unfortunately, any plans GMA had to open a permanent building dissipated in the wake of the Working Waterfront referendum in 1987, and you'd be hard-pressed to find the word "Aquarium" anywhere on the GMRI website now.

Meanwhile, The Children's Museum of Maine is now planning a move to Thompson's Point. The Forecaster had the story first on Wednesday, The Press Herald had a story with much the same info a day later, and a follow-up with more detail today, including a guess that the plan will go before the Planning Board in the spring. Going by the plans from October 2015 that are still available here, it appears that this will be the "Cultural Center" that has been part of the overall scheme since the beginning, on Lot 7 / Building I as referenced in the plans.

I am not sure what, if anything, is happening w/r/t construction of the new Suburban Propane facility on Riverside St. I've seen earth-moving vehicles back there from time to time, but no sign of steel going up or the planned access road.
 
I had an opportunity to talk to the folks in the Suburban Propane office a few weeks ago, and they, while emphasizing that they're in the "they don't tell us anything" category, said that they've heard that the move to Riverside won't be happening until sometime in late 2018 at the earliest.

Meanwhile, today's Press Herald is teasing an article in tomorrow's Telegram, saying "Luring More to Thompson's Point: Hotel, 70 apartment units are among the expansion plans."
 
Here's the article in question

http://www.pressherald.com/2017/07/...ay-to-becoming-portlands-newest-neighborhood/

hompson’s Point has evolved into an arts and entertainment destination off Portland’s peninsula, away from the traditional arts and culture centers of downtown and the Old Port. The developers of the 30-acre parcel have filled one massive building with tenants and turned another into a 27,000-square-foot event center called Brick South, which housed a music festival called Sunaana in March. That same month, the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine announced plans to move to Thompson’s Point in the next few years, likely breaking ground for a new building next year. The developers also plan to build a hotel and a 70-plus-unit apartment complex on the site in the next couple of years.
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"in the next couple of years" is very different from a PPH article just a few months ago, which said that the hotel and apartments were both breaking ground in 2017
 
Cosakita18 said:
Here's the article in question

http://www.pressherald.com/2017/07/...ay-to-becoming-portlands-newest-neighborhood/

"in the next couple of years" is very different from a PPH article just a few months ago, which said that the hotel and apartments were both breaking ground in 2017
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The article's disappointing from a new-construction standpoint; they mention the Children's Museum, and the hotel and 70 apartments as you noted, but no word on the Suburban Propane property or anything beyond that. Plus, folks in the comments are saying that they are now charging for parking to visit the shops (booze, chicken, etc.) down there!
 
markhb said:
The article's disappointing from a new-construction standpoint; they mention the Children's Museum, and the hotel and 70 apartments as you noted, but no word on the Suburban Propane property or anything beyond that. Plus, folks in the comments are saying that they are now charging for parking to visit the shops (booze, chicken, etc.) down there!
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Parking is a serious issue both at Thompson's point and at the PTC, which is why I'm curious that there's been no progress on a garage. Apparently the lobster roll festival this past weekend was a parking nightmare, with a large amount of illegal parking on nearby properties
 
Cosakita18 said:
Apparently the lobster roll festival this past weekend was a parking nightmare, with a large amount of illegal parking on nearby properties
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It looks like it was a nightmare generally, with far higher turnout than expected and the storms just adding to the mess.

I'm disappointed to hear that Unified Parking Partners is being employed for parking down there. They've blighted the downtown area with their sidewalk signs and their predatory business model turns off many out-of-towners. I was walking by one of their lots on Brown Street and a guy in a suit was screaming into his phone that if his car wasn't returned in 5 minutes he would have both the police and his lawyer on the scene! :)
 
Heard a rumor from a mostly reliable source that A building permit is in hand for the Suburban Propane facility in Riverside, and that it should start construction by the end of the year, and that Thompsons Point plans to take advantage of TIF money to help finance the garage on the Suburban Propane site.
 
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