General Portland Discussion

Portland to weigh repairing or rebuilding its historic Expo

A recent assessment found that the 110-year-old building may need $30 million in repairs.
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The 110-year-old Expo is now the oldest operating municipal arena in the country, according to city staff, and a recent eye-opening assessment prompted officials to begin considering its future.
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Portland plans to contract with a firm through a competitive process to determine the potential scope and cost of a project, as well as to engage the community regarding the facility’s future, the city said in a press release Tuesday.
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They can hire a consultant, but they have to go with the $30M repair, right? The city has no money and replacement would cost, what, 3-5x the repair? That said, I'm interested in the possibility of rethinking that entire area: phases to connect it to (and then also replace?) Troubh, giving some ground to Hadlock (although I like the current quirkiness), integrate new/unique box seating/group space for Hadlock into the new Expo, add meeting/convention space, attempt to buy the gas station for more land/frontage on Park, figure out better/less chaotic parking (a dedicated garage?), shared space/concesssions/services with Fitzpatrick/HoP? If replacing Troubh is in the cards, pleeeease just do it all at the same time and make one cohesive building.
 
Yes, it's time to rethink the entire area. I'm not usually one to save old semi-functional buildings, but I like the Expo. Shore it up and figure out some new F&D spaces to help monetize it some more, maybe even upper level suites like they did at TD Garden with the upper deck. It's not so much for the rich or corporations, but for groups. Put in a narrow floor along the upper outside with the upper parts of the interior wall cut out (where the big ads are). Make a big F&D drink area above the front lobby too. Look at the revenue that Hearts of PIne next door brings in with F&D from its community areas. They serve craft beer and craft food (High Roller), not frankenfood like CIA, etc. do. Fans, or those under 50, don't want to sit down for the entire game. They want to get up and stand somewhere to hang with friends and others while still able to see the action. Did this for a Bruins game last year--a sushi bar opened up to see the ice.
 
My priority would be decent accessible seating. Right now, the choices are the courtside seats, or a wheelchair section that is slightly elevated, but behind the premium boxes so you can't see below the players' knees, where a lot of the action is. (Hard to follow the ball when you lose sight every time they dribble.) The proposed arena at Thompson's Point was going to have the wheelchair seating at the top, but that died.
 
Photos of Front Street Phase 3, 8 new affordable homeownership townhouses in East Deering on Presumpscot Street, from the Portland Housing Authority.

It's all modular construction, so I think the structures literally went up in a matter of days:
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Smart. This is an easy jaunt to the new Roux campus. In January of 2028 it opens with 2,000 students and several hundred faculty and staff. They have no housing and this development is new and modern. In 2031 the plan is 8,000 students and over a thousand faculty and staff. They are aiming for a dorm and a small hotel on the campus by then, but even with that, maybe 500 to 800 accommodated? I don't see the neighbors on board for 2,000 units of housing. I also see a doubling of property values for this area in the next 5 years. You don't need a crystal ball for this one.
 
540 Congress would be an ideal location for student housing. It's horrid, that facade. I don't care what its history is, it looks out of place, like it belongs maybe in ancient Egypt. Raze it all and build a 10-15 story funky and modern designed tower for student housing that is set back. It would give a little more life to the area. More students are coming. By 2031, Roux is planning for 8,000. I doubt that Roux will be able to accommodate that count near or on its campus, or until the boomers pass away in East Deering. I think Portland could one day be a city dominated by education, like Boston. Per capita, Maine is the 6th fastest growing state in the country now.

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51K jobs AND 47,000 residents. Commute-to-work trips are a significant source of ridership (1 job generally means 2 daily trips to and from work, although it's a little less than that with post-pandemic working-from-home trends).

But other household-based trips – for medical appointments, trips to school, recreation, shopping – are also a major driver of transit ridership.

More significantly, this project could start influencing land use on the Route 25 corridor – where things are currently VERY car-oriented – to enable more walkable development, especially near the new bus stations. And that, in turn, will drive additional transit ridership. Outside of the Portland peninsula, virtually all of the trips in this corridor currently require a car, so shifting 4600 daily trips to a bus is pretty significant, and will enable more growth in downtown Westbrook and downtown Gorham to happen (if they legalize it) without adding additional car traffic.
 
Former St.Joesph's site in North Deering is now owned by something called "ST J Housing LLC" There has been some kind of survey team in the area as well.
 
Portlander said:
Great location for them and sadly another loss for Congress Street.
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Does anyone else remember when the spot next to what is now Nosh (I believe it's the home to Another Round now, per GSV) had a big neon sign for Roger's Jewelers, the sign painted in the windows said Carter Bros., and I believe it was actually the intown home of G.M. Pollack?

Also, I'll note that Springer's upstairs neighbor, Cross Jewelers, hasn't been open for walk-in traffic since COVID; their showroom is appointment-only.
 
It was G.M. Pollack's flagship store and I think it would be smart for Cross Jewelers to relocate to the Springer's location and actually have a street level presence instead of the lame upstairs showroom that can be difficult to find.
 
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