Herald Square | 385 Congress St | Portland

[nomc]

First site plan could be submitted within a week

 

[Portlander]

An amazing transformation to this end of Congress Street if these buildings actually materialize and it's looking like they will. I also like the movement away from brick and these structures will blend in well with the surrounding limestone and granite exteriors like City Hall, Masonic Building and the courthouses.

 

[Cosakita18]

The Master Plan was approved at last night's PB meeting

Development plan approved for Congress Street block with hotel, condos and shops

The plan calls for nearly 300 condos, a hotel and retail space, though subsequent site plan approvals for individual phases are needed.

www.pressherald.com

It seems like the timing between phase 1 and 2 will be fairly close.

...he said the site plan application for the hotel, which is being constructed by The Fathom Companies, could be submitted before the end of the month and that Reger Dasco is looking to file a site plan application for the first phase of the condominiums this fall.

 

[nomc]

An amazing transformation to this end of Congress Street if these buildings actually materialize and it's looking like they will. I also like the movement away from brick and these structures will blend in well with the surrounding limestone and granite exteriors like City Hall, Masonic Building and the courthouses.

I think remember the architect saying that these are still essentially just massing studies (they did mention the incomplete top few floors of the hotel) and that the site plans would be where they present materials, etc... I believe he also mentioned the fenestration may not be final either. I don't know, I was pretty groggy by the time they got to this.

One public comment was concerned about the amount of garage that would be showing on street level and how that would effect the pedestrian experience. The architect mentioned that they wanted to keep the garage open to avoid mechanical ventilation and will propose covering it with a permeable surface. This got me concerned about Myrtle St in particular - the entrance to Merrill is already pretty underwhelming and on top it faces the brick wall of the PH building. I wish the design had taken the entrance into consideration and opened the buildings up a bit more to Merrill's entrance. I realize they're already cramming as many cars as possible into the garage so there isn't really room to widen the end of the stairs on Myrtle, but one can dream.

 

[TC_zoid]

Not sure if everyone caught this but the Fathom Companies are involved with the hotel. Brilliant. There are now nine personnel at this development company (Jim Brady), and so we know that this first phase hotel will be something outstanding. And perhaps as good or better than anything in Boston (including Raffles, of which is really about the condos). It will be so good, in fact, that I think the following three phases will be approved relatively easily. I think Brady, no, I know Brady is going to top both the Press and the Canopy with something a bit more modern, perhaps international in feel and scope. No brick and wood. Glass. Not Maine in Maine, as I like to say. Add the 25-story hotel in the Old Port into the mix, the one for Roux, and Portland has a good footing for the future to accommodate visitors for not just tourism, but business.

 

[mainejeff]

I am more excited for this development than any other…although if the 25 story Hyatt comes to fruition…I might change my mind.

 

[Cosakita18]

From an architectural standpoint, I really like the overall design and materials palate...but I do hope they end up toning down the white color just a -tiny- bit.

I think mixing in more light grey / granite and sandstone colors would allow these buildings to really compliment City Hall, the Press Herald / Press Hotel, the fire station and the federal courthouse.

I really do like the design as is...but it looks just a LITTLE bit too "South Beach Miami"

 

[nomc]

MaineBiz article today says this is tentatively called Herald Square. Is this new? I don't think I've seen the name anywhere else? Could have been buried somewhere in the paperwork.

 

[Portlander]

It was officially announced by Reger Dasco Properties on March 28th and the Portland Press Herald covered the proposed development shortly after which is the first time I heard it referred to as Herald Square.

 

[Portlander]

Could a MODERATOR please change the thread title to: Herald Square | 385 Congress Street | Portland
Thanks BeeLine

 

[Max]

Even though I understand the connection to the former Portland Press HERALD site, I gotta be honest I don't love the idea of using the same name as well known landmark in NYC. It would be like calling it Times Square or Lincoln Center or something... There's got to be a more unique name available.

Anyway I watched their presentation to the Planning Board and I think they're making some gradual improvements to the overall concept. They showed kind of a cool fly-through animation going from Congress Street up the public staircase and through the "amenity deck" and down the Myrtle Street staircase. It's almost like a mini High Line, you could just lounge up there on benches and ogle the wealthy through their bedroom windows. Although as I'm watching this I'm just thinking about how many people will be passed out or camped out up there in the warmer months, something which PB gadfly George Rowe mentioned during public comment. The developers did say that the deck will have opening and closing hours, so I guess everyone would be kicked off at a certain time.

They showed a street rendering that I thought was helpful, below. They also said the designs are not final and they expect to keep tweaking them during the site plan processes. It's a very ambitious full site plan, hopefully it keeps getting improved and all comes to fruition in this decade.

 

[Portlander]

Great information Max and thanks for the update. I'd be content if the two Congress Street structures are the only phases completed and would consider the Cumberland Avenue portion of the project a bonus if it happens down the road. Even though this developer is legit and has followed through with his visions to date, selling 300 upscale units is a lofty expectation even during Portland's ongoing new construction boom. Maybe changing the name to "Herald Plaza" or "Herald Center" would give it a little separation from the NYC namesake.

 

[PWMFlyer]

Mentioned in the Portland Phoenix that the developers plan to either fee in lieu or they will build housing to meet the city's code.
Portland Planning Board considers massive downtown condo-and-hotel project | The Portland Phoenix

 

[DZH22]

It would be like calling it Times Square...

No definitely not. That might be NYC's most nationally/globally iconic area.

It would be like calling it Lincoln Center or something...

Yeah maybe, since I don't know what Lincoln Center even is. Did you know that names regularly get reused around the world? For instance most of our town/city names originally came from England.

Even this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Portland

Oregon stole your city's name 65 years later to create the biggest city in that state too. Off topic, but is Portland the only city name that is the largest city in multiple states? (heck, I would even count provinces/countries for that challenge)

 

[Portlander]

The "Portlands" used to be the only combination that was also the largest city in their respective states. The 2020 Census has changed that and have added the "Charlestons" to the trivia question. Charleston has surpassed Columbia by 13K in population for South Carolina and Charleston (48,864) maintains it's very slim lead over Huntington (46,482) as the largest city in West Virginia.

 

[Max]

Yeah OK, names are reused a lot. I still don't like it. In American consciousness Herald Square is associated with NYC, Macy's, the Thanksgiving Parade, etc...

And believe me I'm very annoyed that there's a major city in Oregon called Portland. If I could go back in history and change one thing it would be the outcome of that damn coin flip.

 

[Portlander]

^ I would have preferred Boston, Oregon also! Another thing that irks me is that USS Portland (LPD 27) which was commissioned in 2018 was named for the city in Oregon where previous Navy ships with that name were a tribute to both cities. Portland, Maine's naval history is impressive especially considering it was the home base for the North Atlantic fleet during WWII and was critical in providing escort for the Liberty ships back and forth to Europe.

 

[Corey]

This rendering has me excited. Can almost imagine the Top of the Old Port lot being filled in down the road, too.

View attachment 27157

 

[DanielPWM19]

This rendering has me excited. Can almost imagine the Top of the Old Port lot being filled in down the road, too.

I agree. These renderings are the best yet. Has me excited for the change of the look and feel of Portland in a positive and progressive way. This is what Portland needs. I've been dying for someone to develop the Top of the Old Port too. Would be amazing to have something 20++ stories there.

 

[Max]

Bunch of documents have been uploaded to their site plan application for Phase 1 - the hotel. No indication in any of these documents that the condo building (Phase 1A or 2 or whatever they're calling it) will be built simultaneously. Anyway the design is very different from what was presented in the master development plan materials -- there's some limestone around the base, then it's a dark glazed brick for the bulk of the building plus a metal panel scheme over the corner windows at Congress / Myrtle. I'm not opposed to this direction of design, my main issue initially is that black / dark brick scheme looks pretty boring on the long sides, I hope they break it up a little with more color.