General Portland Discussion

I believe the lot had a Dunkin' Donuts? And I was told that prostitutes would sit down and talk with the cops in there and both sides were copasetic. The State Theatre across the street featured X-rated movies. It was kind of Portland's "Combat Zone" or named after Boston's near the theatre district. Boston's was essentially obliterated after a popular Harvard football player was stabbed to death there by a pimp in 1976.
 
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The under-construction pic shows us so many actually useful stores... State Drug (which was an actual pharmacy), Paul's Food Center, Alpha-Delta House of Pizza in the little spot that was Vinland for a bit....

My Mom remembered the Walgreen's from when she was going to PHS. When they opened up at Woodford's Corner, they gave away postcards showing that old location.
 
Why was it called a "motor" hotel? Doesn't it suggest that you can pull your car up to or close to your room like one can with a motel? Must be a misnomer, like the Holiday Inn by the Bay; Casco Bay is nowhere near it. The same with cars at the Eastland when you're staying on the 12th floor. If anything, it could be the "rock star hotel" as Ozzy Osbourne and other rockers in the late 70s and 80s would stay there after a concert at the civic center. Back then there was no hurry to get back into the tour bus as they were not as luxurious as they are today, and you also have a phone and the internet. I was told that Ozzy and his band were banned for life from the Eastland. Not cool when you drunkenly throw poolside patio furniture off the roof to the street below.
 
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The buyer could make a good faith offer to the City of Portland (which owns the adjacent parking lot on Commercial Street) to build something that covers the entire block between Commercial and York in exchange for the preservation of some ground-level parking underneath the building.

Or just replace the parking with more housing, which ought to be a higher priority. .
 
lunardinosaur said:
The old St.Joesphs property off Washington Ave has been sold: https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/me/portland/1133-washington-ave/pid_65892701/

Very curious what the plan for this site could be.
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That was a lot of land for a 1 story retirement home, or complex with 4 wings. It's surrounded by trees so somewhat private and in the city. It's a bit over a mile and basically a straight shot to the new Roux campus. I'm curious who paid $4 million for that. I can see luxury coming... maybe 3-4 stories. It's also less than a mile to UNE. They too have no housing.
 
Wow! I hadn't realized that this had already sold, that's great news.

The price seems low for a site with that much potential. I think the former owner was MaineHealth if I recall correctly – which, as the city's biggest employer, has a strong financial interest in making more middle-income housing available here. I wonder if the buyer was a nonprofit developer like Avesta and part of the agreement was that they'd build workforce housing?

This also reminds me that there was a site plan application last fall for a small duplex development on a nearby stretch of Ray Street where planners mentioned this parcel. The applicants were asking the city to waive the requirement that they build a sidewalk along Ray Street, but planners rejected that argument:

"Staff does not support the waiver request due to the site’s proximity to existing public transit access. Additionally, there is an existing sidewalk segment extending along Ray Street from Washington Avenue, and significant redevelopment potential nearby particularly with the former St. Joseph’s site likely to be converted into housing making pedestrian connectivity important."
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Portland Housing Authority is poised to acquire 879 Congress Street – this gravel parking lot and the small white apartment building next to it – for a new mixed-use building, targeting about 60 apartments.

MaineHealth is reportedly providing some funding to help acquire the property, in the interest of providing more housing for their workers:

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From their April 2 board meeting materials:
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I thought initially this was the Sportsman's lot, which Maine Health also owns. Interesting that they're apparently flipping the lot to the city (anyone want to check the purchase price history?) rather than developing it themselves.
 
MarkHB said:
I thought initially this was the Sportsman's lot, which Maine Health also owns. Interesting that they're apparently flipping the lot to the city (anyone want to check the purchase price history?) rather than developing it themselves.
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The next lot down next to the new antique place was the Sportsmans. Maine Health also owns this lot
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MarkHB said:
Interesting that they're apparently flipping the lot to the city (anyone want to check the purchase price history?) rather than developing it themselves.
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(emphasis added)...
879 Congress LLC bought the apartment building in 2017 for $442,500, and they bought the vacant lot in 2020 for $145,000.... making a total recorded purchase price for both properties of $587,500... PHDC is asking for approval of a loan to buy them at no more than $1.2 million.... a bit more than $600,000 net to "879 Congress LLC".
 
Youth and Family Outreach seems to have started their new building at 331 Cumberland Ave. I'm surprised that Preble Street Chapel was not considered historic.
Demolition Video:
www.facebook.com

The Demolition Of A Sanctuary | Facebook

The Demolition Of A Sanctuary Today was Good Friday. In the Christian tradition, today is known as the day that the world went dark as a man who had nowhere to lay his head was falsely arrested,...
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
See and

Our Expansion — Youth & Family Outreach

www.yfoutreachme.org www.yfoutreachme.org
for more information about the new project.
 
cranewatch said:
I'm surprised that Preble Street Chapel was not considered historic
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I agree but because the new project will greatly surpass the current needs by doubling child care and providing 60 units of housing any naysayers must have just looked the other way which is so typical. I think the new building is a positive and may help transform one of Portland's seedier areas.
 
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