465 Congress Street | Portland

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New M&T Bank signage.
 
That's a lot of signage for what is essentially just a retail bank branch.

Sad that M&T isn't keeping any office space in this building. I'm not upset that this building is being converted to residential, but this would be a cool place for "boutique" downtown office and coworking space.
 
I agree Mark, the width of the sign overwhelms the size of the lettering and leaves too much blank space on either side. The bank actually wanted a green background with white lettering (post #39) and the city said no.
 
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I have a solution. They should trim the two ends so the actual length of the sign lines up perfectly with the four projections (post #41) on the front of the facade. This would give it a more balanced appearance without overwhelming the roofline and they could apply a similar approach on the rear of the building.
 
^ Good eye but the photo below was taken showing the railings on July 13th of this year but it is still a positive sign. (y)
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Am surprised that the FOR LEASE office space sign is still on the building unless the owners are still holding out hope for a new law firm or insurance company to sign as a major tenant. I really love this building!
 
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It's odd that this building is still being actively marketed for commercial leases while the building is poised for residential redevelopment.

There's a new commercial leasing brochure from October of this year highlighting the property for office space and even showing a few top floor spaces as leased

3DDC9BC6-94CA-419E-A9C7-F7C296DFD35D (propertyshark.com)

Lease rates are $16-19 /Sq. Ft / YR which is honestly a rock bottom price
 
I wonder if they're still figuring out egress - that was one major concern on the last meeting I watched. They already have to add an extension on the rear of the building to house a stairwell, but they were still discussing with code to see if a second one would be required. If so, they may have a hard time finding a place to put it.
 
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Portlander said:
I'm really hoping it remains an office building and the lease rates are a steal and it only takes one law firm to commit to a couple of floors that will create new energy to help attract additional tenants.
Click to expand...

A lot of people also tend to overlook that there are a lot of downtown eateries that survive by catering to the lunch time office crowd. A downtown professional workforce can bring just as much urban vitality as a hotel or apartments!

I would love to see a smaller tech or engineering company set up shop downtown. It's a unique building with lots of history and it seems fitting that it could continue its legacy as an office by hosting a new generation of tech-driven companies...Lots of smaller startups that are priced out of the Boston area and only need ~10-20,000 sq. ft.
 
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I doubt this building would ever be able to be actual lab space. Modern bio labs need a big floor plate and lots of complex ventilation and climate control systems which would be virtually impossible to retrofit onto the Fidelity Building

But some kind of other tech / Software / Robotics / Engineering startup incubator space? This building would be a great fit.
 
Per the Historic Preservation packet for Wednesday's meeting, the residential conversion is a go, The city has come to agreement to the code issues regarding egress. It looks like to rear canopy was supposed to be removed and a new canopy will be built near the bottom of the stairwell. The company is also going through the NPS for tax credits.
 
Stayed at the 1913 built Omni Hotel in Indianapolis this past weekend (also 11 stories) and hated it. The irony here is that it was initially built for residential living, or hotel guests. I love old hotels, provided they are clean, don't have odors, and are not too drafty (it snowed there on Saturday). This one failed on all three. In my opinion, it needs another renovation, though more of a cosmetic one (the last was in the late 1980s). But I suppose if you make 465 kind of funky and comfy it might be fun to live in. MECA students would have been the best idea. Heck, I think I'd let them do the interior design too.
 
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Not sure if this a positive or a negative but M&T Bank is closing their branch in the Fidelity Building on January 12, 2024. Their reasoning is due to having branches too close to each other which makes sense with another M&T Bank on Fore Street. I am a little surprised they chose the much smaller space and are willing to abandon Maine's classiest banking lobby and the signage on the roof which is a huge marketing asset. Maybe they'll pay to keep the sign for the visibility and maintain their current ATM in the building's entrance and drive thru. Could this be a signal for the start of construction in the near future and M&T does want to be in the way or does the developer want them out and has other plans for the lobby?
 
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