Failed Development Projects | Portland

How about the absurdly cheesy Maine State Pier proposal from Tom Walsh and Bob Baldacci (the governor's brother) in 2007? Credit/shame for this design goes to TMS Architects of Portsmouth.

(I can't believe they paid someone to make a model of this)
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MartinS said:
And the Fidelity Building Addition:

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The first image complements of Portlander's research.
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That first illustration is amazing! I had never seen this project as anything other than a blurry newspaper clipping . Great find MartinS/ Portlander!

A real shame this didn't happen, it would have been a great addition to the skyline, and I feel like it would have aged very well.

I wonder if something like this would ever be considered again, now that the Time & Temp Building isn't on the office market.
 
Does it seem that Winton Scott Architects have alot invested in failed projects? Most of the failed projects seem to be designed by Winton Scott...just an observation.
 
cneal said:
How about the absurdly cheesy Maine State Pier proposal from Tom Walsh and Bob Baldacci (the governor's brother) in 2007? Credit/shame for this design goes to TMS Architects of Portsmouth.

(I can't believe they paid someone to make a model of this)
IMG_2172.JPG
Click to expand...

They seem to have taken all of the worst architectural trends of the late 90's / early 2000's and mashed them together, and yet it still looks unbelievably generic. Glad we didn't end up with what is basically a suburban office park in the middle of the waterfront. Although I find it interesting the model includes a rail / light rail line running down Commercial St. :p
 
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PWMFlyer said:
Does it seem that Winton Scott Architects have alot invested in failed projects? Most of the failed projects seem to be designed by Winton Scott...just an observation.
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Winton Scott was one of the bigger firms in town in the mid-2000s, when a lot of these projects were being proposed, only to get sunk during the Great Recession. I think it was just a matter of bad timing, and maybe they got burned. They're still around, but generally doing lower-profile projects.
 
Did the recession kill the Fidelity Building project? When was it proposed? Surprisingly, it received approval from Deb Andrews and the Planning Board....LOL
 
PWMFlyer said:
Did the recession kill the Fidelity Building project? When was it proposed? Surprisingly, it received approval from Deb Andrews and the Planning Board....LOL
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I'm pretty sure the late 80's / early 90's recession killed of the Fidelity Addition and the big Lincoln square proposal. I'm not sure when the Fidelity addition was proposed. I'll do some diggin' in my files to see if I come up with anything.
 
The recession and lack of a major tenant contributed to the demise of the Fidelity Building's addition around 1990. I did sent the renderings and related information on the project to the new building ownership which is based in Connecticut this past summer. They responded back by saying they were impressed with what could have been and stated that their plans for the renovations would not be that ambitious but would be a quality project and will respect the structure's historical relevance.
 
The Village isn't that far off of what was actually built.
 
Another mid-sized failure. 218-220 Washington Ave. Not officially failed but unlikely to get built at this point.


Side note: It's a tiny bit depressing that as soon as Portland gets its own subforum, the top thread quickly becomes about failed projects :p

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Cosakita18 said:
Side note: It's a tiny bit depressing that as soon as Portland gets its own subforum, the top thread quickly becomes about failed projects
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And no one has brought up Eastern Point yet!
 
Let's also not forget the original vision for Thompson's Point. The scope of this project has changed significantly. The arena and parking garage will not be built. Office and residential space also seems unlikely under the current master plan.

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Are you sure about the TP parking garage? It was still in the last plan I saw online.
 
PWMFlyer said:
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Westin Hotel at Jordan's Meats, project changed to Hampton Inn and a undeveloped lot.
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I used to walk by Jordan Meats to a weekly appointment on Middle Street (before the Italian Restaurant was demolished). It's too bad this project didn't fully come to fruition. I thought I saw a proposal for a hotel here recently?
 
DanielPWM19 said:
I was working at TD Bank (People's at the time) at One Portland Square when this was proposed. I thought this building would change the skyline in a much needed way. There was a referendum that killed this because I believe the meal tax would have to be increased to help fund it?
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There was a new arena or convention center planned, and the hope was to use a county-level local option meals & lodging tax to fund it. However, the Legislature has never allowed one of those and wasn't willing to do so for this one.
 
markhb said:
OK, from the Portland, Maine History Facebook group, the original Lincoln Square pics that were originally gotten from this forum (Somewhere...)

The original proposal, with a max height of 330 ft (which would have been the tallest building north of Boston):
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The revised proposal, max height 227 feet:

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I notice that these images still have the old County Jail on Federal St., barely visible.
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I was randomly thinking about this project this morning. How do you think the general NIMBY and transplant populace would react to this being proposed today, but as residential instead of commercial?
 
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