Old Port Square (née Canal Plaza) | Portland

How long is the process supposed to take before this building can receive its final approvals? Is it going to drag out for years and years like it does in Boston or is there a set timing expectation?
 
nomc said:
The 'drive aisle' is already used as an entrance/exit for the garage and parking lot, has it been an issue? But what is the delta? How spaces in the parking lot are transitioning to a garage space? How many spaces are reserved in the garage (ie currently used as public spaces)? How many will use the Fore St entrance instead of Union St?
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Honestly, the delta is presumably the number of drop-offs / pickups at the Porte Cochere (hotel, Uber, etc.) minus the twice/day traffic for the existing 35 or so parking spaces. So it could be a fair amount of traffic, but as Portlander pointed out, pedestrian impacts on that stretch will likely be minimal since it's not a great connector for foot traffic. They still have to do the calculations for the traffic movement permit (unless that was in the latest submission), and I don't know if the fire department is still worried, but I think those are the big things that need to be satisfied.
 
DZH22 said:
How long is the process supposed to take before this building can receive its final approvals? Is it going to drag out for years and years like it does in Boston or is there a set timing expectation?
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Using "The Casco" as a timeline example and understanding that the Old Port Square tower is a much taller structure: Final design application, August 2020. Historic Preservation Board approval, April 2021. Planning Board approval, May 2021. City Council approval, June 2021. Demolition, foundation and building permits, July 2021. Financing, July 2021. Site preparation commencement, August 2021. Groundbreaking ceremony, October 2021. Topping out ceremony, October 2022. Building open for tenants, March 2024.

My best guess would be a 3 to 4 year window from final design to the building receiving an Occupancy Permit. Let's all meet for drinks at the Sky Lobby on the 30th floor in 2029! :)
 
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There has been substantial discussion on Instagram and X about this project. Most of it is positive. I pointed this out in a post... (the attached photos) as it too was perhaps once thought of as an ugly off-putting tower not fitting in with the surrounding area. But the locals got to like it, you think?

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Disagree. That looks to be an office building next to a Romanesque styled church hundreds of years old. The Old Port has older buildings, but nothing too grand. The new Old Port Square Tower will have large windows for a two-floor restaurant and bar, etc., so at night with the lights on it will be people visible from below enjoying themselves (similar to the Westin in Portland). Moreover, Boston's 60 story Hancock Tower is next to Trinity Church (1733) and that juxtaposition works wonderfully. Remember, there was a group that wanted to save the B&M Baked Beans factory. That shows you something about the aesthetic mindset of many.
 
I agree with your point but in 1733 the site of the current 1872 Trinity Church in Boston was under water in the town of Roxbury.
 
TC_zoid said:
Disagree. That looks to be an office building next to a Romanesque styled church hundreds of years old. The Old Port has older buildings, but nothing too grand. The new Old Port Square Tower will have large windows for a two-floor restaurant and bar, etc., so at night with the lights on it will be people visible from below enjoying themselves (similar to the Westin in Portland). Moreover, Boston's 60 story Hancock Tower is next to Trinity Church (1733) and that juxtaposition works wonderfully. Remember, there was a group that wanted to save the B&M Baked Beans factory. That shows you something about the aesthetic mindset of many.
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I think tour montparnasse looks funny to me because its so isolated. Hancock Tower does look really nice in its context, but I would argue that's partially because there is a mix of different high rises in its vicinity. Reflexively shutting down construction of high rises after the first one goes up is what leads to that 2001 space odyssey monolith vibe lmao. That said, I think the existing surroundings already would make something of this scale look quite good in Portland.

I like the vision from NR2Portland for how this might fit into a skyline in 20 years too.
NR2Portland said:
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I don’t want to spam this picture in the forum too much, this will be the last time, I promise. BUT these people need to realize you have to start somewhere and, like it or not, this skyline will continue to change due to the demand for housing and the demand for Portland in general! When this is built in 4 years it will stick out. In 10 years from now, this will fit right into our skyline.
Never heard of someone’s day being ruined due to a building being taller than other ones.
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That was before Herald Square revised their height to reach the height limit after recode so honestly this tower will fit in very well. Add 5-8 more stories for Herald Square on that visual I provided a while ago! We have to start somewhere!
 
NR2Portland said:
That was before Herald Square revised their height to reach the height limit after recode so honestly this tower will fit in very well. Add 5-8 more stories for Herald Square on that visual I provided a while ago! We have to start somewhere!
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Wow good to hear they were allowed to go bigger, wish that was more often the case in Boston ngl. Maybe it'll look a little monolithic until everything else builds out, but that's what Taipei looked like before the surroundings were filled in around Taipei 101. Even then, I really like the iconic single building skyline look, I certainly thought it was a cool vibe when I was visiting Taiwan as a kid


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I imagine people probably also thought the Prudential in Boston looked a little goofy when it went up, but now I think it looks excellent
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Maine Public posting their timely piece on this tower a day before planning board (tonight). They did a really good job laying out the facts but we all know who infested the comments. Hopefully this meeting isn’t overrun by the NIMBYs and some YIMBYs show up. At the end of the day it’s a tiny surface parking lot in the heart of the old port that hosts no life… this would be an improvement despite many of us wanting it to look or function another way!
 
There is a considerable amount of fury directed at this proposal build in the PPH comments section today. I'll bet nearly all of these people, after it gets built will visit the rooftop restaurant and bar and enjoy themselves with the stunning views. We need to point out that good or better architecture solves a need and enhances the user experience. When walking around in the Old Port it won't be such a big deal as most of the time it won't be in your face screaming "ugly."
 
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TC_zoid said:
There is a considerable amount of fury directed at this proposal build in the PPH comments section today. I'll bet nearly all of these people, after it gets built will visit the rooftop restaurant and bar and enjoy themselves with the stunning views. We need to point out that good or better architecture solves a need and enhances the user experience. When walking around in the Old Port it won't be such a big deal as most of the time it won't be in your face screaming "ugly."
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I think a lot of Mainers simply have a clinical relationship with change, a sort of natural reflex to reject anything new before understanding any benefit whatsoever. We want a thriving economy and housing, but we refuse to accept the vertical growth required to support it. Even if this isn't solving the housing crisis or creating affordable housing, it's creating new housing stock that will take the pressure off the gentrification of older housing stock. In the end, it’s easier for some to be furious at a rendering than to admit that Portland can't stay a low-rise town forever if it wants to survive.

That unabashed fear of change also blinds them to how the building will actually function in its setting. There's this fear that the tower will dominate everything, but in a dense area like the Old Port, you rarely look straight up. At the street level, this project is going to add density and life, not block out the sun, and it won't change the street-level experience.
 
Dr. StrangeHat said:
I think a lot of Mainers simply have a clinical relationship with change, a sort of natural reflex to reject anything new before understanding any benefit whatsoever. We want a thriving economy and housing, but we refuse to accept the vertical growth required to support it. Even if this isn't solving the housing crisis or creating affordable housing, it's creating new housing stock that will take the pressure off the gentrification of older housing stock. In the end, it’s easier for some to be furious at a rendering than to admit that Portland can't stay a low-rise town forever if it wants to survive.

That unabashed fear of change also blinds them to how the building will actually function in its setting. There's this fear that the tower will dominate everything, but in a dense area like the Old Port, you rarely look straight up. At the street level, this project is going to add density and life, not block out the sun, and it won't change the street-level experience.
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They chose the wrong image perspective to release to the public. It has The Casco rooftop at the horizon, and so this new tower stands well above it. I took the ferry back from Peaks this fall and The Casco dominates the skyline from this return line of sight. Here's a picture I took to illustrate it. Picture the tower in this image. It won't be nearly as dominating. Prior, Portland didn't really have a skyline from this angle as all the buildings sort of grouped together to create one mass of low-rise structures. And The Casco will be considerably more than half-way up to the new proposal build as The Casco's ground elevation is maybe another ten feet higher. Redfern was smart when they proposed their building. All of the images they released to the public were from the ground looking up, in a kind of wide-angle perspective. It looked relatively harmless for the emotion knee jerkers.

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*** ALERT ***
Were you aware that "PEOPLE LEAVE CITIES BECAUSE OF BIG BUILDINGS", I personally did not realize this fact and may have to reevaluate my support for this proposed tower! :mad:

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Excellent Mainebiz article by Laurie Schreiber
 
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