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Given all that has transpired since the developers presented their Master Development Plan in 2019, I'm a bit surprised they haven't gone back to the drawing board and reconsidered the highest and best (and most profitable) uses of this property. Considering the likelihood that we'll never have...

I honestly hadn't even noticed the changes to the hotel tower, the presentation was so focused on ground level / public access. I'm going to guess that they've been pricing out materials and construction costs and subsequently making some design changes, but we'll see what they come back with...

I thought there were some positive design changes presented to the PB the other night. I grabbed a couple screen shots below, but the primary change has been to basically dump the idea of a public park on Congress and instead they've created a public thoroughfare on the "deck" that would be...

My recollection is that early discussions of a Maine Public HQ were that they wanted it to be "open and accessible" to the public, something like the WGBH studios on Boylston Street in Boston, so maybe you'd have the broadcast studio on the first floor visible from the sidewalk. But beyond that...

It's on the afternoon workshop agenda.

I came across an interesting tidbit recently looking through an old issue of the Journal of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. In their November 2019 issue they did an interview with Moshe Safdie, and he references the Canal Plaza hotel. He says they originally considered...

An interesting aside in this story about the sale of a medical office building in South Portland. East Brown Cow, who sold the site for $30 million, said they rarely sell properties in their portfolio but that: "we will be reinvesting this capital into East Brown Cow’s current and ongoing...

Jim you have an endless repository of historic Portland photos! I love 'em! For all the mistakes that the city and state might have made regarding the built environment, one unquestionable winner was the move to get rid of billboards. With a few exceptions (Times Square, Vegas, etc.)...

It looks like the hotel's website is allowing reservations to be made beginning September 1: https://www.cambriaoldport.com/ It's been nearly four years since they first started doing work at this site. I wonder if Covetrus leadership has had any second thoughts about the need for such a...

Indeed it was being used to lift some things up to the roof of One Portland Square earlier this week.

I guess that's because they've gone towards this idea of a 2-3 story parking "podium" which all the buildings would ultimately sit upon. The lack of activation on Myrtle and Pearl Streets and lack of public cut-throughs, etc., was brought up on the call. The developers basically said it's...

I sat in on their "public meeting" tonight on Zoom. Not much new was discussed. The architect went over the renderings we've already seen and described how they came up with the massing and design. As for the timeline, they said they plan to bring their MDP before the planning board for a...

Nice shot! Are you on Pleasant Street there?

There is a recent site plan application for 76 Congress on CSS but no materials up yet. I know their website says they got HP and PB approval but I was under the impression they still needed to raise a ton of money to make it happen. Maybe they've had some success with fundraising. I think it...

Interestingly I don't think we've seen any interior renderings yet, I don't think that's required for HPB or PB review, or perhaps even for NPS, which is primarily concerned with the exterior. That said, the developers have said that they want to make this Portland's premiere hotel, a...

Historic Preservation signed off on the plans at their last hearing, and I believe they've gotten the go-ahead from the planning board. During the HPB meeting the developers said they were days away from submitting an application to the National Park Service, which oversees the issuance of...

It looked like a delivery truck was unloading a bunch of appliances into the Schwartz building this morning, so it seems like real progress is being made in finally bringing this building back to life. According to this website there will be 12 apartments over ground floor retail, opening this...

The developers have said the poles are "temporary" in the sense that their master development plan includes putting all power underground, but it will likely be several years before it happens (if it happens). I walked by here yesterday and saw the changes they've made to the marina site as...

Based on the staff notes in the packet, staff is less enthused about the move to more glass. Basically they're saying the facade is too complicated compared to most buildings on Commercial. We'll see what the Board thinks...

To be clear, the expensive townhouses are going to be built the next block over, facing Winter Street on one side and a currently empty parking lot on the back side (although it will likely be developed at some point). The buildings that will go up along Winter Street opposite the new Mercy...