General Portland Discussion

Not sure if its the same owners/developers, but someone did a great job renovating the Bow St building awhile back. This will look great next to it.
 
Not sure what is currently in the building, but the listing also mentions the upper floors being converted into residential:
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I was by there this morning and there's already a big crew working on the masonry, and the old fabric awnings have been torn off.
 
I was wondering what happened to the Willis St condo building - forgot it was in litigation:

Maine high court sends challenge to Munjoy Hill condo development back to city

Neighbors appealed the planning board’s unanimous 2021 decision, arguing that the project failed to meet height, setback and historic preservation design-review requirements under city code. They then appealed to the state’s high court after the Superior Court upheld the planning board’s decision.

Elizabeth Boepple, an attorney representing the neighbors who brought the lawsuit, said they are disappointed that the high court decided to remand the case to the planning board rather than decide the legal issues.

“If you walk around that area and envision what (Wells’) project would look like, it’s a very large structure that would be imposed on a neighborhood it doesn’t belong in,” Boepple said. “(The lawsuit) certainly isn’t just a nuisance.”
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I mean... it's literally one block from the Eastern Prom Towers...
 
Just for posterity, I'll mention that the McDonald's at Morrill's Corner is currently closed for renovations, and it has nearly (if not completely already) lost its mansard roof in favor of the nondescript high-walled box they're favoring these days. Interesting to see it happen, though... the mansard overhang was wood-framed and they basically sawed it off, extended the roof where it was recessed relative to the outside wall, and then extended the wall up to match. All wooden construction at least that I could see from the street.

Anyone who remembers when the Westbrook McDonald's (not Morrill's Corner) had a fun trolley-car-like thing in the middle of the dining room for birthday parties, take a drink.

Anyone who remembers when Simpson's Hamburgers had a stand in Westbrook that was later replaced by the McDonald's, finish your drink, pour another and chug that too... we may not have much time left! 🤣
 
Just thought I'd add this photo of the McDonald's mid-reno. The Playplace signage came off yesterday.

PXL_20230907_164757815.jpg
 
I couldn't find the thread on Franklyn Arterial, but there's an update:

Portland Council hears update on Franklin Street redesign

PPH Text:
The city plans to apply for federal funding and begin work later this decade on a project that was approved in 2015 in an effort to make the area safer for bicyclists and pedestrians while creating space to build housing.

The Portland City Council received a long-awaited update on a master plan to redesign Franklin Street Arterial – a major road that funnels traffic from Interstate 295 into downtown Portland.

The throughway was built in the 1960s as part of an urban renewal project that destroyed historic housing, displaced immigrant communities and separated the East Bayside neighborhood from Portland’s downtown.

On Monday night, Jeremiah Bartlett, the city’s transportation systems engineer, gave a presentation updating the council on the project, which was approved in 2015. Bartlett said that the city plans to apply for federal funding to aid in the cost of the redesign beginning in fall of 2024, and hopes to begin construction sometime between 2026 and 2030 contingent on funding.

Zarro described the redesign as a “once in a generation, transformational project.”

Councilor Mark Dion, however, expressed concern about the removal of the trees in the median and about the cost of the project.

Funding has been an obstacle since the redesign was approved in 2015, when the estimated cost was $22 million. Now, according to Nell Donaldson, director of special projects in the city, it’s difficult to estimate. For the next phase, which entails mapping out a detailed budget, applying for federal funding and nailing down the finer points of the project, Donaldson estimated the city will spend $250,000. This money would not come from the upcoming year’s budget, instead the city will tap accounts it has dedicated to infrastructure spending and – should the City Council approve it – a Village Partnership Agreement Fund, a program offered by the Maine Department of Transportation.

As for procuring federal funding to complete the project by 2030, Bartlett was confident that through a combination of federal grants and earmarks the necessary funding will be secured. “We certainly have friends in high places in Washington at this point,” he said.

The Franklin Street redesign project was started in 2009 with a dedicated neighborhood group, and since its inception the scope and primary goals of the project have shifted. What was once aimed primarily at making a crucial part of the city more walkable has evolved into a large-scale project that not only prioritizes pedestrians and cyclists but also affordable housing development along Franklin. Mayor Kate Snyder called the project as it stands today “certainly one of the most ambitious projects we’ve worked on,” but ultimately expressed support for it, praising in particular the opportunity to build more affordable housing.

Although the City Council approved the project in 2015, it did not approve a budget, simply the idea to reconstruct the arterial. The council will make funding decisions as the project unfolds.

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matt.greeson said:
Not the trees!
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Unfortunately, many of the trees along the arterial are already approaching the end of their lives. Large trees such as these also rarely survive transplantation. There are beautiful oaks that would be nice to save but they have taproots and rarely survive. I am a horticulturist/landscape designer and have seen this attempted so many times at exorbitant cost only to watch the trees linger and die within a couple of years. You are much further ahead if you simply plant large field grown specimen trees.
 
At last night's mayoral debate, one of the "lightning round" questions posed by the host was "Do you support raising building height limits in downtown areas to support new housing growth?"

Every candidate enthusiastically said yes.
 
What articles and stories are not making clear is that the massive sewer separation project will need to move to Franklin within the next few years. The trees will need to come out anyway. And while they are doing the project is the best time to be rethinking how to rebuild it.
 
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Would be a huge improvement to 509 Forest and kind of reminds me of something you'd see in like Columbus' (OH) "Short North" district, these 2-4 story quasi-modern looking buildings of brick and glass.
 
DanielPWM19 said:
I couldn't find the thread on Franklyn Arterial, but there's an update:

Portland Council hears update on Franklin Street redesign

PPH Text:
The city plans to apply for federal funding and begin work later this decade on a project that was approved in 2015 in an effort to make the area safer for bicyclists and pedestrians while creating space to build housing.

The Portland City Council received a long-awaited update on a master plan to redesign Franklin Street Arterial – a major road that funnels traffic from Interstate 295 into downtown Portland.

The throughway was built in the 1960s as part of an urban renewal project that destroyed historic housing, displaced immigrant communities and separated the East Bayside neighborhood from Portland’s downtown.

On Monday night, Jeremiah Bartlett, the city’s transportation systems engineer, gave a presentation updating the council on the project, which was approved in 2015. Bartlett said that the city plans to apply for federal funding to aid in the cost of the redesign beginning in fall of 2024, and hopes to begin construction sometime between 2026 and 2030 contingent on funding.

Zarro described the redesign as a “once in a generation, transformational project.”

Councilor Mark Dion, however, expressed concern about the removal of the trees in the median and about the cost of the project.

Funding has been an obstacle since the redesign was approved in 2015, when the estimated cost was $22 million. Now, according to Nell Donaldson, director of special projects in the city, it’s difficult to estimate. For the next phase, which entails mapping out a detailed budget, applying for federal funding and nailing down the finer points of the project, Donaldson estimated the city will spend $250,000. This money would not come from the upcoming year’s budget, instead the city will tap accounts it has dedicated to infrastructure spending and – should the City Council approve it – a Village Partnership Agreement Fund, a program offered by the Maine Department of Transportation.

As for procuring federal funding to complete the project by 2030, Bartlett was confident that through a combination of federal grants and earmarks the necessary funding will be secured. “We certainly have friends in high places in Washington at this point,” he said.

The Franklin Street redesign project was started in 2009 with a dedicated neighborhood group, and since its inception the scope and primary goals of the project have shifted. What was once aimed primarily at making a crucial part of the city more walkable has evolved into a large-scale project that not only prioritizes pedestrians and cyclists but also affordable housing development along Franklin. Mayor Kate Snyder called the project as it stands today “certainly one of the most ambitious projects we’ve worked on,” but ultimately expressed support for it, praising in particular the opportunity to build more affordable housing.

Although the City Council approved the project in 2015, it did not approve a budget, simply the idea to reconstruct the arterial. The council will make funding decisions as the project unfolds.

View attachment 42662
Click to expand...
Bus lanes would be appreciated in this redesign. Plus the big yellow parcel where the top of the old port parking currently is would be a great location for a new bus hub, which metro has stated they would like to see in their long term plans.
 
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