Biddeford/Saco Developments

The Biddeford Planning Board reviewed a proposal containing three structures and up to 191 residential units on Pearl St. in downtown Biddeford. They envision Building A containing residential and commercial, Building B being dedicated to residential, and building C housing restaurants. Residential units would be a mix of rentals and condos.

Looks like the bulk of structures A & B would be fiber cement. I like that they're proposing accenting that with natural wood and stone tile.

I'm curious about how the courtyard will feel. The retail in structure A doesn't wrap around to the courtyard though the side of structure B that fronts on it would contain a maker space, clubroom, bike/kayak storage, and building entrance.

This proposal is on the lot adjacent to the proposed pedestrian bridge described in post #18 above.

Site Layout
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Building A Elevation From Pearl
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Building B Elevation from Pearl
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Building C South Facing Elevation
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Landscape Plan
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For a little more info, check out this article in the Press Herald
www.pressherald.com

Early proposal for 3 Lincoln in Biddeford includes up to 191 residential units, more

The Planning Board learned about the proposal in a sketch plan review .
www.pressherald.com www.pressherald.com

For a lot more info, a link to the Planning Board agenda/information packet is here
 
If they put a restaurant that looks like that next to the proposed green space and either the tied arch bridge or the sleek curved girder bridge that area could be real nice.
 
Though smaller in scale, this building reminds me of the renderings for 3 Portland Square.
 
Glad this is moving forward - however they initially said they wanted to create a neighborhood feel on Gooch St and I'm not really getting that from the rendering. Maybe there's more we can't see.

For some reason I thought there was earlier renders/massing for that side of Gooch St? This is very different from what I had imagined would happen - and I don't see anything in this thread - so I guess I dreamed it up.
 
nomc said:
Glad this is moving forward - however they initially said they wanted to create a neighborhood feel on Gooch St and I'm not really getting that from the rendering. Maybe there's more we can't see.

For some reason I thought there was earlier renders/massing for that side of Gooch St? This is very different from what I had imagined would happen - and I don't see anything in this thread - so I guess I dreamed it up.
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As far as I know, there aren't any additional renderings or massings for Gooch St (By the way, Gooch St. will likely be renamed as part of this project) Perhaps you were looking at the Pearl St. project on the other side of the railroad right-of-way?

4 big projects happening basically at the same time along the Biddeford Waterfront that have the potential to add 700+ housing units. This section of downtown Biddeford along Route 1 will look VERY different in a few years!
- Gooch St.
- Pearl St.
- Diamond Match Property
-Lincoln Mill Hotel and Residential space

Not to mention the Pearl Point Park project , The new River Walk with a direct connection linking downtown to the Eastern Trail and the pedestrian bridge over to the Saco Transportation Center set to begin construction sometime late next year.
 
If it's all done right, Biddeford could have a really cool downtown "core" that's very walkable and livable.

Something Sanford will never see with their mills. They'll never get out of their own way. I'm aware being inland from I:95 doesn't help, but a lot of people live there who work at the Shipyard.
 
New renderings of the proposed 3-building project on Pearl Street in Biddeford. This project includes two, six-story residential buildings with ~210 units and a 2-story mixed-use commercial building with retail, dining and office space.

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Not sure if the giant bronze grasshopper sculpture is a planned feature or an embellishment from the rendering artist :p

This project will be going through the planning process at the same time as "The Levee" on the other side of the railroad. These two projects will have a pedestrian connection to each other and to the new Pearl Point Park via an existing underpass beneath the railroad RoW.
This is going to be a HUGE transformation for this area.
 
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How real is the depicted the pedestrian bridge from Biddleford (Pearl Point park) to Saco (Downeaster station) ? Conceptual, Proposed, Planned, Funded....
 
Arlington said:
How real is the depicted the pedestrian bridge from Biddleford (Pearl Point park) to Saco (Downeaster station) ? Conceptual, Proposed, Planned, Funded....
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As far as I understand, it's in pre-engineering and is partially funded. Just requires additional approvals Maine DEP and the Saco River Corridor Commission.
 
Cosakita18 said:
As far as I understand, it's in pre-engineering and is partially funded. Just requires additional approvals Maine DEP and the Saco River Corridor Commission.
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What design did they end up going with? I remember seeing multiple designs put out for public comment.
 
Great. All of this. I grew up in Saco. I never thought I'd see anything like this. The mill area was always the joke of the town--especially the city of Biddeford. LOVE that bridge to the train station. The comfortable and easy train ride is only 2 hours to Boston. With more people working from home, I'd say this easy and fun ride to Boston (or Portland or OOB) will be a big plus. Boston is the greatest (or most important) city in the world when you combine its offerings of education and high tech. The two are inseparable, and many of the largest and leading tech companies are building offices in Boston--even some from China (big pharma). Amazon is working on its second tower in the Seaport district, and soon 3,000 of its highest-level workers (A.I., robotics, cloud computing) will be based here. Boeing and Google moved some of its highest-level workers across the street from M.I.T. We all know why. With today's remote or partial remote workforce, one can live in Southern Maine with its low crime rate and four-season recreational offerings. I only see continued growth for this area. I've heard that the new boutique hotel in the mill is pretty cool. I'll post some pics of that when I'm back in town during Thanksgiving holiday.
 
TC_zoid said:
With more people working from home, I'd say this easy and fun ride to Boston (or Portland or OOB) will be a big plus.
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Once the Wells project is done (extended passing siding, second platform on the other side of the tracks), NNEPRA plans to add an early, stub round-trip Brunswick-Wells to serve potential commuters to Portland from either direction. So that will help out as well.
 
markhb said:
Once the Wells project is done (extended passing siding, second platform on the other side of the tracks), NNEPRA plans to add an early, stub round-trip Brunswick-Wells to serve potential commuters to Portland from either direction. So that will help out as well.
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Nice.
Latest data has Boston now at number 2 in highest average monthly rent. It went up 4.2 percent since last month! ($3,500) It's only going to continue to rise like this. What's the average rent in Wells or Saco/Biddeford for an apartment? $1,200? A LOT less. Why live in Boston when you can still experience it with work (and play) with a relatively easy commute from Wells or Saco? And if it's only 2 or 3 days a week, nothing, because you simply pass the time away on your laptop doing work. If the Downeaster enhanced its dining car, and added 2 or 3 scenic view cars, it would be an even bigger draw. I was in Switzerland this past July and took some trains that were so modern and comfy that I didn't want to get off. If the Downeaster had this, I bet ridership would go up by 50%. This is key to Southern Maine's phenomenal growth--transportation.

https://www.boston.com/real-estate/...ses-san-francisco-second-most-expensive-city/
 
Another interesting small infill project in Downtown Biddeford - 69 Elm St.

14 apartment units squeezed into a small triangular parcel between Elm St, the railroad and the Saco & Lowell Building ( Currently being renovated by Port Properties)


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An article in the Biddeford Courier today states that the Planning Board approved the project described in posts 21 and 28 of this thread. In addition to confirming the project would create 214 units across two buildings and one two story structure that will likely house restaurants, there were a couple of interesting additional details.
First, a waiver was granted to provide 100 fewer parking spaces than are required by ordinance.
Second, the developers agreed to a public access easement that would extend the River Walk and connect directly to the proposed Pearl Point Park which connects to the multimodal bridge discussed a few times in this thread, most recently in post 36.
 
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