Huge projects unveiled for Portland waterfront

Pier proposals a contrast in tactics

Courtesy The Olympia Cos.
PORTLAND ? The developers vying for the right to develop the Maine State Pier have similar visions for the 88-year-old structure.

But they are taking different approaches to drumming up support.

Ocean Properties and The Olympia Cos. have each submitted $90 million redevelopment plans for the city-owned pier. Both include a hotel, office building, restaurant space, accommodations for cruise ships and park space.

Olympia is seeking a 75-year lease of the property and proposes $18 million in immediate repair work for the pier, which the city has concluded is failing after years of not being maintained. Olympia wants either tax increment financing for 20 years at $650,000 a year or an $18 million bond. The company estimates the redeveloped property would generate annual taxes of $1 million.

Ocean Properties agrees with the tax estimate and is asking for a 50 percent property tax return annually for 30 years. The company wants a 99-year lease and is offering $11 million for upgrades and work on the pier.

City Councilor Jim Cloutier, chairman of the Community Development Committee ? which gets the first crack at the proposals ? said this week he expects it will take months for the city to get a firm grasp of the intricacies of each proposal.

?They both off the basic policy we want to advance,? he said. ?Better marine access, better public access and repair to the pier itself.?

City Councilor Kevin Donoghue, also a member of the CDC, said he would focus on bringing services for islanders and land-based mass transit in to the mix.

Other councilors zeroed in on the numbers. Councilor David Marshall said he was disappointed both developers are asking for tax breaks to fix the pier.

?The whole point of going forward with rezoning was to not have to use taxpayer money to fix the pier,? he said.

Ocean Properties is a New Hampshire- and Florida-based company with roots in Maine. Its leader, Tom Walsh, runs hotels and ocean-based tourist attractions including Sable Oaks in South Portland and Harborside Hotel & Marina in Bar Harbor. The company is one of the largest private hotel owner-operators in North America, with several properties in Florida and Canada.

The Maine State Pier redevelopment would be the company?s first Portland project, according to Robert Baldacci, Ocean Properties? vice president of development.

Olympia has offices a block from the pier, and developed the Hilton Garden Inn across the street, along with the Bangor Savings Bank building on the corner of Fore Street and Franklin Arterial. Headed by Kevin Mahaney, Olympia also developed the Doubletree Hotel on Congress Street and is constructing the addition to Custom House Square on Fore Street. Although the company has interests in New Hampshire and Virginia, much of its development has been in Portland.

It is not surprising that the approaches taken by Ocean Properties and Olympia follow a similar scale. Ocean Properties is a hotel giant of sorts, and has big backers including former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, a close friend of Walsh?s, according to Baldacci. Baldacci, of course, is a brother of Gov. John Baldacci. He is also Mitchell?s cousin.

The company has been interested in Portland for several years, Baldacci said, and has been discussing a ?world-class? development on the Portland waterfront since the days of the late former City Manager Robert Ganley.

The company began designing plans for the pier and discussing those plans behind the scenes with city officials before the city started the rezoning process, causing some opponents to raise the issue of fairness.

Olympia got a later start on its proposal, waiting until the pier was actually rezoned by the City Council last October. During the four months the city?s Request for Proposals was out, Olympia met with community groups and residents, including Hilary Bassett of Greater Portland Landmarks and Nan Cumming of Portland Trails; business owners Kirk Goodhue and Cyrus Hagge; real estate broker Mark Malone; former mayors Anne Pringle, Nathan Smith and Barbara Vestal; and artist Alice Spencer. Waterfront advocate Nico Walsh, Jaime Parker of the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Organization and Peaks Island resident Chris Hoppin also took part in meetings.

?We felt we did not have to look any farther than Portland for a great team,? said Project Manager Sasa Cook.

The design team was made up of Portland architects, engineers and landscapers.

Ocean Properties worked with TMS Architects of Portsmouth, N.H.; the Maguire Group, a Rhode Island-based engineering company that studied the pier previously for the city; and Yarmouth-based MRLD, a landscape company that has worked on several Portland projects.

The plan from Ocean Properties includes a 200-room hotel on land abutting the pier, a 119,000-square-foot office building on the pier, and a 12,000-square-foot seafood restaurant at the end of the pier next to a 20,000-square-foot public market. There is a 300-car parking garage off the pier and an 80-spot surface parking lot on the pier. Ocean Properties proposed a new pier be built for the tugboats that dock at the Maine State Pier.

Baldacci said the company would also run whale-watching excursions from the pier.

Compass Park remains intact and the company is proposing a rooftop public space at the end of the pier.

Baldacci said Ocean Properties is planning to bring a world-class development to Portland, along with 500 jobs. He said the cruise port included in his company?s plan is the centerpiece.

?It has a fully integrated marine focus,? he said. ?We want to inaugurate ferry service linking Portland to Rockland and Bar Harbor.?

The anchor of the Olympia proposal, according to Cook, is a two-acre park planned for land abutting the pier. The park would be situated between a curved office building and the hotel, which Olympia has placed at the beginning of the pier, even though the city rezoning does not allow a hotel on the pier. Cook said Olympia plans to fill in under that part of the pier.

?The skirt wall is failing on the ferry side of the pier,? Cook said . ?This would be a permanent fix for that.?

He said Olympia has discussed with local and state environmental agencies using fill as a fix for the failing wall, and the proposal ?has legs.?

Olympia proposes a ?village? at the end of the pier, with space for a restaurant, shops and a museum. There would also be open space there for fishing and public access to the water.

Cook said much of the proposal was designed with Portland residents in mind.

?Locals are going to benefit from this every day,? he said.

City staff will spend the next week or so reviewing both proposals, setting up site visits and interviewing the developers. The first city-sponsored public forum is scheduled for March 20 during a Community Development Committee meeting. The CDC eventually makes a recommendation to the City Council.

A public forum scheduled for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Public Library and sponsored by Portland Trails and Greater Portland Landmarks has been postponed because Ocean Properties is unable to send a representative. Baldacci said the company did not find out about the forum until Feb. 22 and neither he, Walsh nor Mitchell are available that night.

?We are trying to work out an alternative date,? Baldacci said.

Both proposals are available on the Internet. The Ocean Properties proposal is at www.tms-architects.com. Olympia?s proposal can be found at www.theolympiacompanies.com.

Kate Bucklin can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 106 or kbucklin@theforecaster.net.
 
Pier plan inspires range of reactions

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Reader Comments (below)
By KELLEY BOUCHARD, Staff Writer

Friday, March 2, 2007



One of two proposals to redevelop the Maine State Pier got mixed reviews during a public meeting Thursday evening.
The Olympia Cos. of Portland presented its proposal in Rines Auditorium at the Portland Public Library's main branch. About 100 people attended.
Portland received two $90 million proposals last week to redevelop the city-owned pier, each with a hotel, an office building, restaurants and docking space for cruise ships, among other features.
Initially, Greater Portland Landmarks and Portland Trails had planned to host Thursday's meeting. The groups also invited Portsmouth, N.H.-based Ocean Properties Ltd., the firm that offered the other pier proposal.
However, Ocean Properties declined to participate because lead developers Thomas Walsh and former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell were unable to attend, said Hilary Bassett, executive director of Greater Portland Landmarks.
Mitchell Rasor, a Yarmouth landscape architect who is working with Ocean Properties, attended Thursday's meeting. He said Ocean Properties would make a public presentation in the coming weeks.
Kevin Mahaney, president and chief executive officer of Olympia Cos., said he decided to go ahead with the meeting because he was eager to start a public dialogue about his firm's proposal.
"The more competitive we are, the more information you have, the better position we're going to be in to build something special in Portland," Mahaney said at the start of the meeting.
The 85-year-old pier has become a financial liability for the city because of disrepair and underuse. The pier and a large industrial shed, formerly occupied by Bath Iron Works and Cianbro Corp., stand near the intersection of Franklin Arterial and Commercial Street.
The City Council rezoned the 7-acre property last year to allow commercial redevelopment, with an emphasis on public access and maritime uses.
The council's community development committee is scheduled to hold a public meeting March 20, when residents will be able to see full presentations of each plan and ask questions.
On Thursday, participants broke into groups and described what they liked or disliked about Olympia plan, which involves 11 Portland-area architectural and engineering firms.
While Ocean Properties' representatives didn't speak, Olympia provided copies of the competing proposal and encouraged participants to comment on it.
Freddy Silva, a West End resident, said he liked Olympia's waterfront park and the curved design of the office building. "It's a place that would draw people in," he said. "The most important thing is public access (to the waterfront) because there's so little of it in Portland."
Other participants lauded Olympia's environmentally sensitive building design but questioned the need for another downtown hotel. While Olympia's hotel would be built on the pier, Ocean Properties' hotel would be on land. Conversely, Olympia's office building would be built on land and Ocean Properties' office building would be built on the pier.
Megan Jones of Falmouth questioned how federal homeland security restrictions might affect the pier's redevelopment and existing commercial waterfront uses, such as her schooner, the Frances, which she docks at the pier.
Some questioned Olympia's plan to buy or lease 500 parking spaces elsewhere on the eastern waterfront, as well as Ocean Properties' plan to have an 80-space surface parking lot on the pier. "I can't think of a worse possible use of waterfront space than surface parking," said Kris Clark, another West End resident.
Clark and Silva both criticized property tax breaks requested by Olympia and Ocean Properties. In one of two funding options, Olympia is seeking a $650,000 annual tax break for the first 20 years of a 75-year lease. Ocean Properties is seeking a $500,000 annual tax break for the first 30 years of a 99-year lease.
The competing proposals are backed by some of the biggest names in Maine politics and business. Working with Walsh and Mitchell, Ocean Properties' vice president of development is Robert Baldacci, brother of Gov. John Baldacci.
Mahaney built the Hilton Garden Inn at Commercial Street and Franklin Arterial, and the adjacent office building at Franklin Arterial and Fore Street.
Baldacci, Walsh and Mahaney all have Bangor roots. Mahaney said his father, Larry, is a former business partner with Walsh and he described Mitchell as a family friend.
Staff Writer Kelley Bouchard can be contacted at 791-6328 or at:
kbouchard@pressherald.com


Reader comments




MainelyJack of New Gloucester, ME
Mar 2, 2007 8:16 AM
So, former Senator George Mitchell and Robert Baldacci are now real estate developers?

This is very disappointing news, because it assures us that the decisions made on this proposed development will likely be based on political clout and leverage and not the merits of the plans. At the very least, that will be the perception.

Portland is governed by Democrats who will undoubtedly find it difficult to resist the "Godfather" of Maine's Democrats and the brother of the current governor.

One hopes that the plans will be judged on their merits, but by employing high priced political clout, Ocean Properties has shown a very cynical approach to the matter. Too bad.
 
I don't think a tug will be there by the hotel too much....I don't see the infrastructure for the Cruise ship either. To be sure they are selling an idea. But the idea they shop should reflect what may reasonably take place, in my opinion.

Which brings me to the Marketplace mentioned in the news footage. This seems rather far out on the pier, to carry produce back to the garage.

I understand it is early. These are concepts at this point.

I saw someone mention the park reminded them of Christopher Columbus Park. That may be the case. The Garage in the animation reminds me of the one in Salem.

They seem to leave the existing downtown detail, out of the animation. How much will this contrast with the existing architecture?
 
Joe, great questions, this area is actually not in the downtown section of town at all, so the lack of background detail should come as no surprise. Portland has a very small and dense business center to its downtown, which is several blocks from this proposed development. Next to the business district is a section called the "old port" where histori wharehouses have been rennovated into a shopping district. Further east, beyond the old port, is a strictly industrial area, where the working waterfront is just that--working. This is the area for which this development is proposed, and it is also the target area of a massive redevelopment effort by the city, which would like to extend the downtown eastward, in a minimized form (smaller buildings). The existing architecture in the area is all brick (in back of the proposed development) and the atlantic ocean is in front, as well as another all-glass cruishe ship terminal one block away. the glass portion of this proposal faces the water, and in back the office building is all brick, which would blend in nicely with another new development (riverwalk) which is all brick and is under construction right now. riverwalk will fill an empty parking lot, as will whatever is developed in the near future for the two vacant lots north of that development. there really is not a lot of significant structures in the area right now; its a redevelopment zone (and boy does it need it!). the other concerns you had I can agree with, but bottom line is no matter what goes here it will be an improvement. however, I am going to miss the whale wall.
 
I have been up that way. I am not absolutely sure about the location. But I think I have a good idea.

It's the pier 3 blocks from Norm's right?

Norm should open a rock club. He was one heck of a front man. I wonder if he still plays....

Sorry. It's the pier at Franklin and Commercial right?
 
"Sorry. It's the pier at Franklin and Commercial right?"

Yep, that's exactly where it is. I'm sure Norm is fine sitting at home counting his buckets of money. I would be too.
 
Do you know Norm? I worked with his band for a few gigs.

Buckets of money are nice though.
 
yeah its that pier and there is nothing around it to "blend in" with. just some old craggy buildings and a new westin hotel (stupid looking box that lights up at night).
 
Firms facing off over future of pier

pics of the other proposal are in today's pressherald.

Forget about the Red Sox versus the Yankees. Or Barack Obama versus Hillary Clinton.
Portlanders are witnessing a compelling contest closer to home -- a public battle between two developers, each vying for the right to transform the gritty Maine State Pier into an upscale urban neighborhood. The winner -- to be chosen by the Portland City Council in coming months -- will control what could be one of the most significant real estate projects in the city's history.
On one side: Tom Walsh, 79, a Bangor-born billionaire and patriarch of a family business that is among the largest privately held hotel operating and development companies in North America. His financial partner on this project is his longtime friend George Mitchell, the former majority leader of the U.S. Senate and past chairman of the Walt Disney Co. The governor's brother, Bob Baldacci, is coordinating the effort.
The other side is led by Kevin Mahaney, 44, also a Bangor native. Mahaney, who now lives in Greenwich, Conn., won a silver medal in the 1992 Olympics in a sailing event. He is president of The Olympia Companies, a Portland-based real estate firm that has built five commercial buildings in the city. Mahaney has recruited a dozen outspoken community members to help design his proposal.
The competition has the flavor of a political campaign, with members of each team working hard to win support from residents and community groups while they hone their message to the media.
The front-runner in this race has been Walsh, whose company, Ocean Properties, Ltd., enjoys annual revenue of more than $1 billion. The company and its affiliates own more than 100 hotels. And it has been involved in the pier project from its conception.
The city began pursuing the redevelopment of the pier after Bob Baldacci met with city officials about a year ago to talk about Walsh's desire to build a waterfront hotel in Portland.
In October, the City Council requested proposals to redevelop the pier, which needs more than $13 million in repairs over the next 15 years.
Mitchell said he joined the project because he wanted to work with Walsh. Mitchell described Walsh as a self-made man.
"I think he brings a great deal of credibility and trust based on his prior record and experiences," Mitchell said. Mitchell, in turn, brings political savvy and a degree of star power to the team.
But when both proposals arrived at City Hall for the Feb. 22 deadline, whatever edge Walsh had enjoyed disappeared.
PROPOSALS DIFFER
Both proposals call for spending around $90 million on new construction and repairs. Both give the city what it's looking for: mixed-use development that also retains deepwater berthing opportunities and enhanced public access. Both seek a long-term lease that requires no annual payments. The city has hired a Boston consultant to help it compare the financial packages.
But Mahaney's written proposal is more polished. It features more complete and detailed architectural drawings. The presentation includes a computer-generated animated movie that gives viewers a three-dimensional, 360-degree aerial view of the proposal, which places a commercial "village" at the end of the pier, with a six-story hotel at the front.
Mahaney presented the plan Thursday at a forum he sponsored at the Portland Public Library, talking about his competitive nature and how it helped him win an Olympic medal. He also explained to the crowd of about 100 people how he had engaged 12 community members to help shape the proposal because he wanted as much community input as possible.
Those community members, he told the crowd, were now free to "beat the snot out of the plan."
At the back of the room, Phineas Sprague said that Mahaney's decision to reach out to people, such as former mayor Nathan Smith and outspoken Peaks Island resident Kirk Goodhue, was politically astute. Sprague owns Portland Yacht Services, which is located next to the pier, and has not yet taken a position on either project.
Many of the people in the room had been involved in past efforts to limit commercial development on the waterfront, Sprague noted.
"They are all sitting here supporting this plan," he said. "Mahaney has done a brilliant job getting people into the discussion."
Just as Mahaney did with his plan, Walsh put his entire 150-page proposal on the company's Web site. But on Wednesday, Walsh's complete proposal was no longer available online because the team needed to rework its Web site.
The document had been replaced with 19 pages of information that did not include drawings or information about the plan for the Maine State Pier. Instead, the document posted online spoke about the company and provided references for the builder.
In a telephone interview Saturday from Florida, where he has a home, Walsh acknowledged that Mahaney's proposal is more visually appealing. He said his team's proposal is conceptual and that the designs are "very preliminary."
Walsh said his architects are now busy preparing a more detailed proposal that will have better renderings. The new drawings, as well as Mahaney's proposal, will be presented at a public forum at noon on March 19 at Merrill Auditorium. The next day, the two development teams will show their plans to City Council committee for the first time.
"We are going to present an outstanding design," Walsh said.
'JUST THE FIRST STAGE'
Mahaney doesn't plan to make any changes before the March 20 council meeting, said Sasa Cook, the project developer for Mahaney. He criticized his opponents' planned release date for more details, saying that presenting new drawings a day before the meeting makes it hard for the public to learn about the project before the council meets.
"The proposal that we submitted is a testament to our seriousness and our desire to get this done," he said. "I think them going after the fact speaks for itself. They saw the level of effort that we put into our proposal and realized they hadn't put that level of effort in. My question is why they haven't."
Dennis Bailey, a veteran political consultant hired to handle public relations for Walsh, said there won't be any fundamental changes in the plan and that the public will have plenty of time to get involved during a long process that will involve extensive negotiations.
"This is just the first stage," he said. "I think the city knows that."
The competition between the Walsh and Mahaney teams involves a lot more than just architectural renderings. Each is side is selling itself as the most capable of getting its proposal built.
Walsh, who pointed to the huge size of his company, said he's in the position to build the project no matter what happens to the economy.
"We can show we have the money on hand to do the job," he said.
But Mahaney, who is among the top taxpayers in the city, said his company has been involved in projects that contain more square feet than the Maine State Pier Project and that his firm easily can handle this project. The company's Portland projects include the Doubletree Hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn, Norway Savings Bank, the W.L. Blake Building and 50 Sewall St., a four-story office building that is the first privately owned green-certified building in Maine.
"We have had a (construction) crane in the air continually in Portland since 1997," he said.
Both companies have the financial capacity to do the project, said Godfrey Wood, president of the Portland Community Chamber. Either team, he said, would be a great partner. No matter who gets the bid, he said, the city of Portland is already a winner.
"These are world-class developers," Wood said, "and it's wonderful that they want to do something of this magnitude."
Staff Writer Tom Bell can be contacted at 791-6369 or at
tbell@pressherald.com
THE OLYMPIA COMPANIESBUSINESS: A commercial real estate development company that owns and manages primarily hotel properties from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast. The company has built five buildings in Portland.HEADQUARTERS: PortlandCEO: Kevin Mahaney since 1988. He may be best known in Maine for his 1995 entry "Young America" in the America's Cup race. He lives in Greenwich, Conn.PROJECTS: Hilton Garden Inns, Portland and Portsmouth, N.H.; Harbor Hill Condominiums, Portsmouth; Custom House Square, Portland.PUBLIC FORUMKEVIN MAHANEY and former Sen. GEORGE MITCHELL will present their competing development plans for Portland's Maine State Pier at a public forum on March 19. THE PORTLAND Community Chamber is sponsoring the forum, which will be held at Merrill Auditorium and begins at noon. LUNCH WILL be available for purchase prior to the forum. Advanced registration by March 15 is required.CALL THE chamber at 772-1196, ext. 228, or register at www.portlandregion.com -->


Reader comments




WestEnder of Portland, ME
Mar 6, 2007 1:44 PM
I'm not sure I understand, why it is bad that the City wants money? Does our city have an overabundancy that I'm unaware of?? Aren't they trying to make use of space that is not being used and fix a pier that will otherwise fall into the harbor? Does this development really make the waterfront less safe???? Why say "hotel industry" when both proposals call for office, retail, restaurant, and a public park/green space. As someone who works across from this development, I look forward to the upgrade in appearance to that area and to enjoying the new public spaces. So, people with money are automatically greedy? Do you know for a fact that money, greed and power drives these companies? I think Olympia has demonstrated to be an important member of the community in its building standards... being the only private developer in the state to build a green building!!!


N.P. Akers of Portland, ME
Mar 6, 2007 12:37 PM
Is it true that the city wins no matter which developer wins?

City government is supposed to be of the people, by the people and for the people, and the real estate in question is the Maine State Pier. Will Portland be a safer place if it is developed by hotel interests, no matter whether or not former U.S. Senator George Mitchell's people (ie, Gov. Baldacci's brother) win?

Oh, that's right. Money. Greed. Power, and the shadow world's parade of stalking pervs. And, Uncle Sam, are you listening? Maybe you could step up to the plate and employ your Homeland Security wonks to help SAVE THE MAINE STATE PIER. Afterall, the city hall movers-and-shakers want money, and it seems they don't care where.

It would be nice if the feds could steer the bidding war away from the hotel industry and more in the direction of keeping the harbor safety-friendly.

That takes money though. But it takes ethics, also. The pier is across the harbor from huge oil tanks located in South Portland.

Incidentally, if former U.S. Senator/Maine Gov. Ralph Owen Brewster (stood up to Standard Oil corporate welfare) were alive today, I wonder what he would be thinking right now about former U.S. Senator Mitchell (Walt Disney) allowing himself to be part of the waterfront controversy.


WestEnder of Portland, ME
Mar 6, 2007 11:49 AM
OK, the Red Sox vs. Yankees was used as a comparison. Lets not forget what we are talking about here. If not billionaires, than who? These companies are trying to take an area of our city that is failing and make it better! THANK YOU! I like the Olympia proposal and feel politics should not be a factor. They spent more time trying to find out what WE, the citizens, wanted to see down there. THANK YOU OLYMPIA!!!!


Singer of South Portland, ME
Mar 6, 2007 10:32 AM
Nothing beats the Red Sox-Yankees battle.
The fact that Mr. Baldacci & Mitchell are involved in this pier project means that they will probably automatically win. It's all political. What Portland really needs down there is FREE parking so everyone can enjoy the area.
 
Im starting to like the other proposal, the one by ocean properties, better. it looks like there are more buildings in it. but the curved office structure is hard to beat.

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Pier proposals getting public play



PORTLAND ? If turnout at a public forum on the topic last week is any indication, Portland residents are interested in the future of the Maine State Pier.

About 100 people filled Rines Auditorium at the Portland Public Library March 1 for a peek at the proposal from Olympia Cos. to build a hotel, office building, retail village and two-acre park on the Maine State Pier and abutting land.

?The idea is to make this the hub of Portland,? Olympia President Kevin Mahaney said.

Mahaney and his team got a jump on competitor Ocean Properties in terms of reaching out to the public in an interactive atmosphere, but there will be several chances in the coming months to view the two $90 million proposals.

Ocean Properties spokesman Robert Baldacci on Monday said he is finalizing details for a March 19 forum at which development principals Tom Walsh and former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell will walk the public through Ocean Properties? vision of the pier, which includes a hotel, office building, cruiseport, parking garage, restaurant and public market.

?We want people to weigh in and express concerns and ideas,? Baldacci said. The meeting is tentatively scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the new East End Elementary School.

Also on March 19, the Portland Community Chamber will host a noon forum at Merrill Auditorium to discuss both projects with leaders of the competing development companies. The event is free and open to the public and will be moderated by Neal Allen of the Greater Portland Council of Governments. Those interested must register by March 15 with the chamber.

?This will be a great opportunity for questions and to see and compare the two proposals,? said Godfrey Wood, chief executive officer of the Portland Regional Chamber.

According to Wood, the chamber is interested in how the city plans to judge the proposals and what the criteria might be for a successful project. He said it is important for the public to know the process, including whether the city plans to negotiate with both developers or just one.

City officials have said it will take months to sift through the proposals and digest each 175-page document, on top of scheduling interviews and site visits with the developers.

The Community Development Committee has a public meeting scheduled for March 20 to discuss the proposals. That committee will ultimately make a recommendation to the City Council.

The City Council rezoned the Maine State Pier last September. The city determined the pier was failing structurally and needed at least $13 million in repairs. The rezoning allows for nonmarine uses, with the reasoning that in exchange for letting a developer build on the 88-year-old city-owned property, the pier would be fixed with private funds.

The city has stipulated that any development of the pier include provisions for marine uses such as berthing for large tankers in need of repair. That situation is happening now at the pier, where the tanker Overseas Shirley is tied up for boiler repairs and other maintenance. No other dock in the city can accommodate a ship that size and the city makes $1,400 a day in berthing and other fees, according to Ports Director Jeff Monroe. The boat has been in port for two weeks and may be here as many as three more weeks.

Besides the city, many water-dependent businesses and workers are getting paid to fix the tanker and provide other support.

Baldacci and Mahaney said tankers and other big ships will still be able to use the deep-water berth at the pier after a development proposal is selected. In the event a cruise ship is scheduled to be at the pier, Baldacci said, there will still be options for accommodating a tanker.

Ocean Properties and Olympia were the only companies to submit proposals for the pier.

Last week, Olympia officials heard a range of public input about their proposal from a diverse crowd. Consultant Winton Scott, of Winton Scott Architects, explained Olympia?s approach to designing the state pier proposal, which included several Portland architectural firms.

?It was a very unusual, pluralist process,? Scott said as he took the audience through a set of photographic slides.

In addition to the architects, a group of community members also met with the design team several times and helped shape the park and layout, said consultant Alan Holt.

After a question-and-answer period, members of the audience split into nine teams to go over key points and questions about the Olympia proposal. Many were positive about the park and the inclusion of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified construction. Others questioned the lack of immediate parking and the design of the hotel.

Baldacci said the public will get equal opportunity to question the Ocean Properties proposal March 19. He said it is important to remember the process will be fluid and the current proposal is a ?concept plan.?

?Ideas will come and changes will be made,? he said.

Kate Bucklin can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 106 or kbucklin@theforecaster.net.


Augusta, gateway to Europe
(published: March 08, 2007)

Former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell takes a moment to talk with Democratic state Rep. Jon Hinck of Portland in Augusta on March 1 before leaving for Europe.


PORTLAND ? Officials from would-be Maine State Pier developer Ocean Properties last week said they couldn?t attend a March 1 Portland Trails-sponsored forum to discuss competing pier proposals because U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, one of the development company?s key allies, would be traveling ?in Europe and the U.S.? for two weeks.

Mitchell, however, was in Augusta on March 1 to deliver a ?State of the Mitchell Institute? address to the Legislature. He even had publicity photos taken with several area Democratic legislators.

Robert Baldacci of Ocean Properties this week tried to put to rest any suspicions that Ocean Properties or the senator were dodging the March 1 forum.

?(Mitchell) was in Maine for two hours,? Baldacci said. ?It was pure coincidence it happened to be that day.? He said Mitchell left the state after his speech in Augusta.

?There?s no way he could have been at the forum,? Baldacci said.
 
Pier planners should build for the next generation

The 85-year-old Maine State Pier is an underperforming city asset that needs a major overhaul.
It's one of two waterfront development projects that stand to define the eastern end of one of New England's most important harbors for decades to come.
That's why, despite the urgency of finding a developer willing to undertake needed and expensive repairs, the city should hold out for a project that's going to look as smart in 50 years as it does on the day it's selected.
The redevelopment can't be done on the cheap. Portland's going to have to offer significant incentives to make it work. But the city must insist on complete transparency on the part of the developer. There's no other way to engender the public trust the project will need to succeed.
It's too early to start picking favorites between competing proposals offered by Ocean Properties Ltd. and The Olympia Companies. Each offers to commit $90 million to develop the pier and adjacent shoreline with a mix of ship terminals, hotels, office space and restaurants. Each incorporates ferry, cruise-ship and tug facilities.
Each provides things to like and things to dislike.
As the process moves forward, city councilors ought not get distracted by stardust and slick presentations. They need to remember they're in the driver's seat here.
The Maine State Pier is as prime a piece of real estate as there is. It hasn't seen a major renovation since it was built in 1923. This is the most important waterfront development to happen in a century. So councilors should hew tightly to their original parameters for the project.
At a bare minimum, the winning bid has to provide deep-water berthing, enhance public access and complement the working waterfront.
But the city must not sign off until the winning developer delivers the kind of eye-catching, pedestrian-friendly, people-magnet that visitors must see and yet makes city residents feel at home.
SETTING A NEW STANDARD
Mixed-use pier redevelopment has changed the face of aging harbors across North America and Europe.
However, Portland's desire to meld marine and commercial uses suggests that several of the most successful urban pier redevelopments won't necessarily provide a good model for us.
Think of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco: Posh marinas and high-end stores come to mind. Chicago's Navy Pier might be a closer match with its shops, restaurants, parks, promenades and cruise-ship berths.
Fortunately, there's no room on the Maine State Pier for the Ferris wheel that gives the Navy Pier the air of an amusement park.
ANCHORING THE EAST END
Sitting near the intersection of Franklin Arterial and Commercial Street, the Maine State Pier is dominated by a large, empty industrial shed that once housed Bath Iron Works and more recently, Cianbro Corp., a major construction firm.
Until last year, restrictive zoning reserved the pier for marine uses only. But declining revenues and mounting repair bills caused a rethinking of that philosophy.
The City Council's decision to relax the maritime-use zoning on the 7-acre property to attract private developers was controversial among other waterfront business owners.
Yet officials saw an opportunity to encourage a vital new model, one that mixes office, hotel, retail and restaurants with compatible maritime commerce and enhanced public access.
Next door to the Maine State Pier is the Ocean Gateway project, which will see a four-acre residential and commercial complex create a brand new neighborhood down by the water.
Together, the Maine State Pier and Ocean Gateway will command the view of all ships entering the harbor.
MAINTAINING A MARITIME IDENTITY
Portland Harbor's uniqueness lies in its working maritime feel. Harbors in their prime are bustling places. Ships come and go, as do their cargoes, crews and suppliers.
Portland still handles more tonnage than any other New England port and is the region's No. 2 destination for international passengers.
With its cruise ship, ferry and tug berths, the throb of diesel engines will be a constant reminder of the city's proud seafaring heritage.
The winning design should also use architecture, museums, public art installations and visual cues to accentuate the integral connection between the city and Casco Bay.
Traffic design may prove to be a trickier task. The pier ought to be predominantly a pedestrian refuge, able to accommodate the ebb and flow of thousands of cruise-ship and ferry passengers who will embark and disembark during the summer.
The new pier will also have to handle island dwellers who need to load freight, goods and vehicles at the ferry terminal. However, extensive surface parking or a parking deck would be a very poor use of the pier's limited space.
As the public reviews progress, city officials to remember that what the developers have presented are only concepts, not final designs.
Portlanders don't exactly lack for passion. They'll expect city councilors to be their advocates. Establishing a respectful, collaborative foundation for discussion at the outset is critical to build community support.
It would be naive to think the process will be all smooth sailing. Some won't like the congestion the new development will bring. Integrating the flow of people and vehicles into an already busy Commercial Street will be one of many coming challenges.
But it's not too much to demand that city leaders deliver on the promise of a unique harbor centerpiece that sets Portland's waterfront apart from every other harbor in the land.
 
City ready for pier pressure

Portland officials say they are prepared to deal with the high public interest being generated by two competing proposals to redevelop the Maine State Pier.
The City Council's community development committee will start its review of the $90 million proposals for the city-owned pier at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the council chamber. Each proposal calls for a hotel, an office building, restaurants and docking space for cruise ships, among other features.
Councilor James Cloutier, committee chairman, said he doesn't expect the committee to forward its recommendation to the full council before June.
In the meantime, the development teams behind each proposal are waging significant public relations campaigns, and civic groups are encouraging a lot of public involvement.
The Greater Portland Chamber will host a free forum on the proposals from noon to 1:30 p.m. Monday at Merrill Auditorium.
More than 400 people have signed up for the 800-seat event, where each proposal will be presented and audience members will be able to ask questions, said Godfrey Wood, the chamber's executive director.
The development team led by Ocean Properties Ltd. of Portsmouth, N.H., includes hotel developer Thomas Walsh, Robert Baldacci, brother of Gov. John Baldacci, and former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell.
The development team led by The Olympia Companies of Portland includes Kevin Mahaney, who built the Hilton Garden Inn on Commercial Street, Winton Scott Architects and several other local design firms.
Key members of each team are expected to attend Monday's forum and Tuesday's committee meeting.
"It's a high-profile project and we're extremely interested in the economic impact on the community, the waterfront and the quality of life in Portland," Wood said Friday. "Public input is always important and we know the city always values it."
Ocean Properties will host a community forum on its proposal from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Abromson Community Center of the University of Southern Maine.
Olympia hosted a similar forum on March 1 in the Rines Auditorium of the Portland Public Library. Greater Portland Landmarks and Portland Trails had planned to host the forum as a way to introduce both proposals to the community, however, Ocean Properties declined to participate.
In addition to Monday's forum at Merrill Auditorium, the Portland Community Chamber's economic development committee will meet at noon Wednesday to draw up selection criteria it plans to recommend to the council.
Formerly used by Bath Iron Works and Cianbro Corp., the 85-year-old pier and its industrial shed stand near the intersection of Franklin Arterial and Commercial Street. The city is seeking redevelopment proposals because the pier needs at least $13 million in repairs and the city has been unable to find tenants for the shed.
The council rezoned the 7-acre property last year to allow commercial redevelopment of the pier, with an emphasis on public access and maritime uses.
Cloutier said his three-member committee and City Hall staff will study each proposal, wade through the sea of public opinion and ensure the best one is recommended to the full council.
"We have a pretty well-established way that we go about this," Cloutier said Friday. "Neither one of those proposals provides enough information at this point for us to make a decision. We've got a lot of ground to cover. By the time we're done, the best proposal will probably pick itself."
Cloutier said the proposals are conceptual, so his committee will try to get each development team to provide specific details on what they're willing to build.
In particular, he said, city officials want to know how each proposal would further waterfront development and preserve the pier's deep-water berth. The city also will examine the financial package offered by each development team.
Ocean Properties plans to spend $11 million on initial pier repairs and public facilities improvements, plus as much as $300,000 on yearly pier maintenance and $500,000 in annual property taxes, according to its written proposal. It wants the city to forgive the other $500,000 in annual property taxes for the first 30 years of a 99-year lease.
In one of two funding options, Olympia would spend $18 million on initial pier repairs and seeks a $650,000 annual tax break for the first 20 years of a 75-year lease, according to its written proposal. For the remainder of the lease, the owner would pay full property taxes, also estimated at $1 million per year.
In the other funding option, Olympia would make annual payments of $2.4 million for 75 years, including $1 million in property taxes and $1.4 million for pier repairs and maintenance. The latter payment would be funded, in part, by borrowing $18 million through a municipal revenue bond with city backing.
Staff Writer Kelley Bouchard can be contacted at 791-6328 or at:
kbouchard@pressherald.com
 
Don`t rush on pier conversion
Why all the rush to convert the last long commercial wharf area to condos, hotels, restaurants, etc.? It seems that every week, there is a needed marine use for the northeast side of that pier. Recently, there was a large tanker berthed there for a week for reasons unknown to me.
Tugs are always berthed there, and the Maine Maritime ship is due this month, as well as sundry Coast Guard cutters, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessels and, of course, the cruise ships.
Tugs with oil barges have been known to tie up here -- and even the new refrigerator ship. It appears that the new pier now in construction will be our only pier available for all sorts of marine use as above, and that is open only on one side.
As I have a daily view from the Eastern Promenade, and as I have seen the important marine use of the pier for the past 21 years, I can't believe the city fathers intend to remove one of the last remaining and needed city-owned piers from commercial marine use.
James A. Mardin
Portland
 
Park it
Both proposals for the Maine State Pier are missing something big

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If you believe the Portlanders who worked on the Olympia Companies proposal for redeveloping the Maine State Pier, the competition between their outfit and Ocean Properties, led by former US senator George Mitchell and Bob Baldacci, is simple: big money versus local ideas. Which isn?t entirely true.
Both firms have local ties, and connections elsewhere, and are backed by incredibly wealthy men. The Two Big Names (respectively, the cousin and brother of the governor) have teamed up through Ocean Properties, a New Hampshire-based firm (owned by a billionaire Mainer whose company is paying a lower business-tax rate than if it were based in Maine), backed by firms from Portsmouth, Portland, and Yarmouth. The Portland-based Olympia Companies (led by a multi-millionaire Mainer) have assembled a collective of nine firms from Portland and two from Massachusetts to do the planning work.

If you believe the local daily paper, the two proposals are largely the same and equally good. That?s not entirely true, either.

The ideas submitted in response to the city?s request for plans to repair and refit the Maine State Pier into something that enhances the city?s waterfront both economically and aesthetically have similar budgets ($90 million for Ocean and $91 million for Olympia) and similar ideas for how much area should be dedicated to retail, hotel, open space, cruise-ship terminal operations, ferry loading, and other uses.

But even on paper, the plans are radically different. And each of them has a major flaw that may prevent either from ever actually turning the decrepit and collapsing Maine State Pier into something other than an ugly remnant of Portland?s working waterfront.



Olympia?s plan shows full-color vistas, including a projected view from the intersection of Commercial Street and the Franklin Arterial that has a wide grassy swath leading down to the water between curved building facades and a clean, convenient ramp for cars to get on the Casco Bay Lines ferries. (Imagine! the picture seems to say aloud, if you could see the water from Commercial Street without looking through dingy alleys or vast parking lots!) This is a view to kill for.

Ocean Properties opens its plan with a three-color sketch of a big-box-store-like ?public market? (see the sidebar for why the gov?s bro says this one won?t fail) with an 80-car parking lot right in front of it. Real nice. Just what we need ? another parking lot smack on the waterfront. To make matters worse, Olympia?s view from Commercial and Franklin all the way down to the water is, in Ocean?s plan, a 350-space parking garage (that brick facing will look great).
For one project, the parking makes everything ugly; for the other, there?s no such worry. It makes choosing easy for the public, and for councilors, right? Not so fast.

Parking is precisely the difference between the two projects: Ocean Properties? plan includes that giant garage and the street-level parking lot, for a total of 430 parking spaces, of the 608 the project would use at peak capacity under city guidelines. (The city allows developers to build fewer spaces than their projects would appear to require.) This will no doubt be the subject of major community objection, because parking is ugly.

Olympia?s proposal doesn?t raise that kind of concern. It?s a beautiful plan, but partly because it has no parking at all. Well, that?s not entirely fair. Olympia?s plan does include an unspecified but very small number of ?short-term on street parking? spaces for people to drop off or pick up ferry passengers, or pop into some of the businesses in the new development. But the company admits its project would use 440 parking spaces at peak demand under current city guidelines, which would require the company to build as many as 220 new ones as part of the project.

The company has, however, set aside $13 million to spend finding parking, possibly, its proposal says, ?with long term leases in either the Casco Bay Lines Garage or the Ocean Gateway Garage.?
That?s a nice idea. Except that the Casco Bay Parking Garage (which is not owned by Casco Bay Lines) has a seven-year-long waiting list to get even one reserved parking space. And the 700-plus-space Ocean Gateway Garage is not yet built, but is sized to accommodate the tenants and visitors in the Ocean Gateway project, so relying on that garage to lease out a large portion of its spaces may be a bit wishful.

The only remaining option will be ? you guessed it ? building a parking garage. Thirteen million is plenty for a big one: at the going rate of between $15,000 and $20,000 per space to build a parking garage, it could be between 650 and 870 spaces ? significantly larger than the city-owned Spring Street garage next to the Cumberland County Civic Center, which has just over 500 spaces.

So Portlanders ? and specifically the city councilors ? are left to decide between an ugly-but-practical project backed by big names that will not significantly improve Portland?s waterfront aesthetics, or a beautiful project that will require a big shiny new parking garage somewhere nearby. Where, exactly, would it go? That?s a choice we can all look forward to.


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When he?s describing Ocean Properties? plans for a public market at the end of a 1000-foot pier off Commercial Street, Bob Baldacci, the governor?s oldest sibling, sounds a heck of a lot like someone promoting the old Portland Public Market, which closed in 2006 after years of charging tenants elevated rent for low-traffic space.
He talks about an emphasis on local sources of food, how attractive it will be to residents and visitors, how much support for local merchants there is in Portland, how handy the nearby parking will make it as a stop for people shopping downtown. All of which were true at the previous market, but the attractiveness never outweighed the hassle ? it was a block off Congress Street, the free parking was always empty, and nobody ever stopped down there just for fun.

But Baldacci's picture changes right at the end: fishermen will be able to unload the day?s catch right at the market, supplying both the restaurant and the merchants. Those merchants will be wholesalers as well as retailers, meaning their sales volume could be far higher than the Public Market?s pedestrian-dependent vendors. (The slow demise of the Portland Fish Exchange could even cause some businesses to move to the new space.)

It might be just the ticket. Or it might be just like its predecessor, doomed to fail from the beginning.
 
You going to the big meeting tomorrow Patrick? I'm not, thought you might get the info for us.

Kate at the Forecaster said the design changes to Riverwalk look nice, add more balconies and stuff.
 
What is that link about? I can't view it from the computer I am at? I didn't go to any of the meetings yesterday, but I thought about it, too lazy in the end. What happened?
 
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