Huge projects unveiled for Portland waterfront

Residents speak on competing pier plans
Some say jobs and parking are key concerns in redeveloping the Maine State Pier.



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May 31, 2007



? By KELLEY BOUCHARD
Staff Writer

Parking and job creation topped the list of issues raised Wednesday during a public hearing on two competing $90 million proposals to redevelop Portland's Maine State Pier.

About 25 residents and others spoke at the first city-sponsored hearing on the much-talked-about proposals. The City Council's community development committee held the event.

Most people spoke in favor of one proposal or the other. A few urged councilors to review each proposal carefully and support the one that makes best use of a 7-acre waterfront asset.

Some questioned whether either proposal would promote the kind of year-round economic activity downtown Portland needs.

"I'm kind of bothered by both of them," said Videoport owner Bill Duggan. "I don't see it."

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.

Portland officials sought redevelopment proposals because the pier needs at least $13 million in repairs and the city has been unable to find new tenants for the 1,000-foot-long, deep-water berth.

The city received proposals from two development teams in February. Each one calls for a hotel, an office building, restaurants and docking space for cruise ships, among other features.

The 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, who attended Wednesday's meeting.

The team led by The Olympia Cos. of Portland includes Kevin Mahaney, who has developed several buildings in the city, and several local design firms, such as Winton Scott Architects and Gorrill-Palmer Consulting Engineers.

Wednesday's meeting in the Merrill Rehearsal Hall was the first of three public hearings scheduled by the three-member community development committee to coincide with its review of the proposals.

William Needelman, one of Portland's senior planners, started the first session with a review of the various regulatory hurdles each proposal faces. They include federal, state and local reviews for a wide range of environmental, zoning and harbor security issues.

"Both projects are going to require a full array of permitting," Needelman said. "Each will have their own challenges."

In particular, Olympia needs state approval to fill beneath the pier where it plans to build a hotel. Ocean Properties needs state approval to build a new pier for Portland's tugboat fleet. State environmental officials say it's more difficult to get permission to fill tidal wetlands than to build a new pier supported by pilings.

Ten people said they like Ocean Properties' design; 11 people said they like Olympia's design.

Several questioned Ocean Properties' plan to use prime public waterfront for a parking garage and surface lots totaling 383 spaces.

Ocean Properties also needs about the same number of spaces off the pier, largely because of whale-watching and intercoastal ferry services it plans to develop on the pier, Needelman said.

Olympia's proposal calls for 335 spaces, most of them off the pier, at locations yet to be identified. Olympia has allocated $13 million to help study and develop regional parking and transit alternatives off the pier, said Thomas Gorrill, transportation engineer.

"It seems to me (Ocean Properties would have) more parking on the pier (and) more parking off the pier," said Kirk Goodhue, who favors the Olympia proposal.

Others said Ocean Properties has the experience and financial backing to do the project and create jobs for Mainers. Several were union officials, including John Hanson, executive director of the Maine State Building & Construction Trades Council.

Hanson said Ocean Properties hasn't promised to hire union workers, but the company has used both union and nonunion contractors on past projects.

"We're satisfied that...some workers will be union members," Hanson said after the meeting.

Phil Kaplan, vice president of the Portland Society of Architects, was among those urging councilors to make a good decision.

"We hope that the deteriorating condition of the pier and the lack of ready public funds do not rush the city into a compromise that falls short of the pier's potential," Kaplan said.

The next public hearing on the pier proposals will be June 13, when the committee plans to review the design and financial package offered by each development team.

The third hearing will be on June 27, when the committee may vote to recommend a development team to the full council.


Staff Writer Kelley Bouchard can be contacted at 791-6328 or at:
 
Waterfront regulations likely to color pier outcome
By Kate Bucklin (published: May 31, 2007)
PORTLAND ? Developers hoping to transform the Maine State Pier will be asked tonight to put their proposals up against the layers of land-use regulations sure to influence any pier makeover.

There are components of the proposals by The Olympia Cos. and Ocean Properties that will test local, state and federal guidelines regulating shoreland zoning, City Councilor James Cloutier said.

Cloutier is chairman of the Community Development Committee, the group charged with studying the two $90 million proposals to redevelop the city-owned pier. The committee is expected to recommend one of the proposals to the full City Council by the end of June.

The meeting Wednesday will also include discussion about the various functions each developer is proposing for the pier.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Homeland Security, the state Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Conservation and the city have regulations regarding the Maine State Pier and surrounding waters. Cloutier said the city has invited representatives of each organization to the meeting.

In addition to redeveloping the pier, Ocean Properties is proposing to construct a new tugboat pier between the state pier and the new Ocean Gateway terminal to the east. Cloutier said that and the docking installations Ocean Properties wants to install along the side of the state pier are likely to receive substantial input from the Army Corps.

At the federal level, The Olympia Cos. could hit a snag with its proposal to fill under part of the pier. The development team believes filling will remedy a crumbling retaining wall on the side of the pier. It will also mean that the hotel Olympia wants to build at the foot of the pier would comply with city regulations, because it would no longer technically be a pier. The city said no hotels would be allowed on the pier when it rezoned the property last year.

?My understanding is, they?ll never be allowed to do it anyway,? Cloutier said, referring to filling under the pier.

The Department of Conservation is still considering its stake in submerged lands under and around the pier. If the department sticks by its original opinion, the only development allowed on the pier would be marine-related and allow public access consistent with the public trust doctrine.

Cloutier said the state DEP has signed off on relatively new zoning for the Central Waterfront District that allows for a relaxation of rules governing how close non-marine businesses can be to the waterfront.

But the state has not approved the city?s new zoning of the Maine State Pier. That zoning allows non-marine business on the first floor of buildings. State regulations do not allow that kind of development and Cloutier said he expects the state will also make a decision regarding what constitutes a business that supports water-dependent uses.

?There is a limit to what they?ll agree to,? Cloutier said. ?They?ll have a lot to say about waterfront uses, especially retail and the parking.?

Ocean Properties is proposing 80 parking spaces on the pier, and both developers want to build restaurants, shops and public markets near the water?s edge.

The city issued a Request for Proposals for the pier last October, asking for redevelopment schemes in exchange for private funding to fix the failing pier, which needs about $15 million in repairs. Olympia and Ocean Properties produced $90 million proposals, each including hotels, office buildings and cruise ship accommodations.

The Olympia Cos., led by Kevin Mahaney, is also proposing a two-acre park on land abutting the pier and a cluster of shops at the end of the pier.

Ocean Properties, led by founder Tom Walsh and former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, wants to build a restaurant and public market on the pier. The development group has retooled its proposal since submitting it in February, creating a more environmentally friendly design and open space.

The meeting tonight begins at 5 p.m. at Merrill Auditorium Rehearsal Hall.

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



Upcoming meetings

The Community Development Committee?s June 13 meeting will be at the Portland Ocean Terminal (the Maine State Pier) in the second-floor meeting room. That meeting will focus on financial arrangements for the pier project.

The June 27 CDC meeting is a public hearing, with committee deliberation scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the Portland Ocean Terminal second-floor meeting room.
 
Councilor Jill C. Duson
101 Pennell Avenue
Portland, ME 04103
E-mail: jduson@portlandmaine.gov
VIA POSTAL & ELECTRONIC MAIL
Re: Maine State Pier
Dear Councilor Duson,
Thank you for the time and attention that you, and your colleagues on the Community
Development Committee, are investing to thoroughly review both proposals for the
redevelopment of the Maine State Pier (MSP). It is with this in mind that I write to you to further
explain the background and reasoning that went into The Olympia Companies? (Olympia)
decision to propose a hotel on the newly widened landmass as part of our plan. I realize that as
you openly stated during a CDC meeting, ?you had moved beyond that hotel-on-the-pier battle.?
As I?m sure you know, prior to the Maine State Pier RFP announcement, I too had opposed the
idea of locating a hotel on the pier and voiced these sentiments with Councilors Mavodones and
Cohen. However, at the time I hadn?t fully researched the merits of a hotel on the pier, especially
in conjunction with a robust project that envisaged abundant public access areas, accommodation
of all the myriad MSP stakeholders and abutting landowners, and solving the economic dilemma
of how to pay to fix the pier. Quite thankfully, the RFP process provided me with an opportunity
to more thoroughly understand the interrelation of these issues, as well as numerous others, any
when everything was said and done I realized that I had erred in my previous criticisms.
As way of background, and as you probably are well aware, Olympia consulted with 12
extremely well informed community members that we believed accurately represented a disparate
sampling of Portland, all of whom, as you know, are passionate advocates for the betterment of
the City of Portland. We believed that a legacy proposal for Portland could only come from
tapping the wisdom and aspirations from the community itself. And so began our dialogue and
working relationship with these diverse representatives from Portland for Portland. We listened
to what they said, and in the end they told us collectively and unanimously, and with full
knowledge that it would be an easy excuse to disqualify our proposal, put the hotel on the
proposed widened landmass beneath the pier!!!
The group started with the assumption that we couldn?t locate the hotel on the pier, worked our
way painstakingly through the details, and came to the ultimate conclusion that in fact we
couldn?t locate the hotel anywhere else. The reasons behind this conclusion are numerous. The
280 Fore Street, Suite 202 Tel: (207) 874-9990
Portland, Maine 04101 www.theolympiacompanies.com Fax: (207) 874-9993
hotel was the last piece of the puzzle, and placement and accommodation of all the other pieces
listed below, dictated where this final piece must go. I believe that it?s vitally important that you
understand our path to progress. Once you do so, I have no doubt that will come to the same
conclusions about our plan and the hotel.
1. Our number one reason and the cornerstone around which the rest of our plan
revolves ? Casco Bay Park. A gift to the citizens for time immemorial! Everyone
was unanimous that the park was THE defining element and that the corner of
Commercial Street and Franklin Arterial is where it MUST go.
After the park, attention was naturally turned to remedying the inescapable reality that
this 85 year old pier needs approximately $15 million dollars for rehabilitation. Consequent
research indicated that a hotel, office building, and to a lesser extent the on-pier tenants could
yield the requisite economic drivers to pay to fix the pier while also providing a continuing
revenue stream with which to maintain it for years to come. It is then with these economics and
the park in mind that we designed the buildings, the revitalization of Compass Park Village, and
the programming of the pier and upland area around:
2. The working waterfront: ameliorating current cruise ship, tug boat, military
visitations, and emergency lay-down operations.
3. CBITD: Improved pedestrian walkways, expanded vehicular circulation and queuing,
and a new freight warehouse to remedy already stressed operations.
4. Islander utility: A better environment to accommodate the needs of the islanders who
view the Maine State Pier as their welcome mat and doorstep into the City of
Portland.
5. Pedestrians
6. Public transportation
7. Current zoning, specifically height limitations: A building of limited height (60 feet)
respects the surrounding buildings, abutting landowners, and preserves view
corridors.
And, with regard to the specific placement of the building, I would like to highlight the
various characteristics of a hotel that determined its ultimate placement:
1. A hotel keeps parking and traffic off the pier. The hotel can effectively use valet
parking, as we do at our Portland Hilton Garden Inn across the street, thereby
keeping all the associated parking and traffic well off site. A hotel generates much
fewer trips and trips that do not conflict with the islander ferry schedule.
2. A hotel supports pedestrian-friendly activity on the pier. An office goes ?dead?
at 5 PM and on weekends. A hotel has 24/7 activity to generate and support
pedestrian activity on the pier and provides an increased level of safety.
3. A hotel offers a wider view corridor from Franklin Street. A hotel is inherently a
much narrower building than an office building. This narrower building means that
we can maintain a generous view corridor down the pier, whereas an office building
blocks that view.
4. A hotel creates better operations for the CBITD. The narrower hotel building also
means that two additional traffic/queuing lanes can be added to the current CBITD
configuration, greatly enhancing the ferry queuing and traffic patterns on the pier.
280 Fore Street, Suite 202 Tel: (207) 874-9990
Portland, Maine 04101 www.theolympiacompanies.com Fax: (207) 874-9993
5. A hotel supports better pedestrian circulation onto the pier. In addition to
improving vehicular circulation, the narrower hotel building in the Olympia project
offers much more generous sidewalks on both sides of the ferry queuing ? wider
sidewalks on the Casco Bay Ferry side and wider sidewalks on the hotel side that are
not possible with an office building.
6. A hotel allows for more generous public access on the eastern water side of the
pier. The narrower hotel building means that the Olympia proposal can maintain a
generous width along the water?s eastern edge of the pier, allowing for both marine
operations (a tractor trailer can go down the length), and still keep a 20 foot wide
promenade open for pedestrians.
7. A hotel building is shorter than an office building, allowing a more
accommodating building scale. An office building has a typical floor-to-floor
height in excess of 13 feet to accommodate the required mechanicals, electronics, etc
? a hotel typically has a floor-to-floor height of 9 feet. This means that the six-storey
hotel in the Olympia proposal is only 60 feet, same as commercial street guidelines
and the same as the Hilton Garden Inn across the street while the six storey office in
the Ocean proposal must be in excess of 80 feet.
And, to highlight germane characteristics of the office building:
1. A 120,000 square foot office building bordering Commercial St., and situated as we
have done, can have a wider base and thus can be only 4 floors to maintain a height
below 60 feet and in scale with the rest of the historic buildings.
2. The office building naturally has more vehicular trips and visitors than a hotel and
thus logically should be located proximate to Commercial St. rather than on the pier.
3. The office building would be within one block of the new Longfellow garage (where
Olympia already has an option on 145 parking spaces) and within a 7 minute walk of
7 other garages and parking lots.
Lastly, and with specific regard to our idea to permanently fix the northern portion of the
pier, resolve the perpetual skirtwall dilemma, and create a foundation for the proposed hotel by
widening the current landmass, we took this idea and our plan to the U.S Army Corps of
Engineers, the Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Maine Dept. of Marine Resources, the Maine Dept of
Conservation ? Bureau of Park & Lands, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. We did so to ensure that what we were considering was a viable solution and one
in which the City of Portland could have confidence. The responses from the group, all of which
are included in full in our submission, were that our solution was feasible and that they saw no
reason that the issue of widening the landmass couldn?t be overcome when taking into account
mitigation, compensation, and because of the numerous environmental benefits of our solution.
It is as a direct result of this exhaustive process that we backed into the inevitable
conclusion that if we are to, among other things, develop Casco Bay Park, fix the pier, and
accommodate existing stakeholders and abutting landowners, the hotel needed to be sited on our
newly proposed widened land mass. As I previously mentioned, before the RFP charrette process
I was 100% against a hotel on the pier! I recognize and openly admit that I was ignorant of the
280 Fore Street, Suite 202 Tel: (207) 874-9990
Portland, Maine 04101 www.theolympiacompanies.com Fax: (207) 874-9993
facts and too quick to judge. Through extensive research and dialogue with citizens, architects,
and engineers, I realized my erroneous conclusions.
In summary, I felt it incredibly important that you sufficiently understand that it is not
without thought, research, and hundreds of hours of dialogue that we came to our plan. It is not
something that was assembled on a whim and without regard to the various stakeholders groups,
zoning, and long term planning noted above. Our plan was an extremely careful thought out
process involving the citizens of Portland, abutting landowners, stakeholder businesses and
government agencies which, I believe, creates the best universal solution for ALL the citizens of
Portland.
I hope this information has been helpful and if I can provide anything further regarding
the hotel or any other aspect of Olympia?s proposal, please do not hesitate to contact me.
 
Ocean Properties' latest proposal renderings

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Olympia moves hotel in pier proposal

The Portland firm held its ground for months, but its final design
includes a plan to build on land.

Now both companies competing to redevelop the city-owned
Maine State Pier have reworked their designs.

The Olympia Companies, which stood by its original proposal for
four months while Ocean Properties Ltd. made changes, has
included an alternative hotel plan in its final design.

Olympia, a Portland company, is saying that a 175-room hotel
proposed for the pier could be built on the land that makes up
part of the seven-acre property.

Ocean Properties of Portsmouth, N.H., has changed its design
several times since the city opened both proposals Feb. 22. The
firm unveiled a complete redesign three weeks ago that moved a
proposed office building from the pier to land.

Each firm wants to build a hotel, an office building, restaurants,
parks, docking space for cruise ships and other features. Ocean
Properties wants a 99-year lease; Olympia is seeking a 75-year
lease.

The City Council's community development committee accepted
final versions of the multimillion-dollar proposals on Friday. The
committee will hold its final public hearing at 5 p.m. today at the
pier before recommending a proposal to the full council.

Today's meeting will conclude with an executive session, when a
financial consultant will give the committee his assessment of
the financial packages offered by the firms.

Three weeks ago, Ocean Properties moved a planned six-story
office building from the 1,000-foot pier because state
environmental regulations won't allow a pier structure taller than
its existing three-story industrial shed, company executives
said.

Olympia executives and others criticized Ocean Properties for
changing its $100 million proposal after the February deadline
and questioned why city officials allowed the changes.

Olympia, which is headed by Kevin Mahaney, submitted an
alternative design late Friday afternoon to demonstrate a
willingness to modify its $93 million proposal if state
environmental officials won't allow a six-story hotel on the pier.

"We stand by our original submission," said Sasha Cook,
Olympia's project coordinator. "We still believe it's the best
proposal for the pier and for the city. We drafted this alternative
in direct response to questions from (committee members)
about our willingness to change our proposal and be flexible."

Olympia's alternative design shows a nine-story structure on
land. That part of the hotel would contain guest rooms. The
lobby and dining and meeting rooms would remain on the pier
in a two-story section where the hotel was originally proposed.

Olympia's alternative design would leave much of a proposed
two-acre park at Commercial Street and Franklin Arterial
undisturbed.

Robert Baldacci, Ocean Properties' vice president, declined to
comment on Olympia's alternative.

"I think it's really up to the committee members at this point.
They can judge both proposals now," said Baldacci, brother of
Gov. John Baldacci.

Ocean Properties includes hotel developer Thomas Walsh and
former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell.

The 85-year-old pier and its large industrial shed were used in
the past by Bath Iron Works and Cianbro Corp.

Portland officials rezoned the pier last year and sought mixed-
use redevelopment proposals because the pier needs at least
$13 million worth of repairs and the city has been unable to find
new tenants for the shed.

Portland officials have been pushing both firms to sweeten their
financial offers, said City Manager Joseph Gray Jr.

Both have agreed to build their projects without seeking
property-tax breaks from the city and to commit $18 million to
initial pier improvements.
 
Pier review enters final 2 weeks
By Kate Bucklin (published: August 09, 2007)
PORTLAND ? With a decision expected in less than two weeks, the companies competing for the right to redevelop the Maine State Pier continued to subtly criticize each other Monday while City Councilors grappled with the mounds of information generated by each proposal.

The Olympia Cos. and Ocean Properties again presented their visions for the city-owned pier. While Olympia representatives focused on their plan to fix the pier and defended the lack of on-site parking, Ocean Properties officials zeroed in on how their design would acquire permits and enhance marine activities in the harbor.

Sen. George Mitchell, a principle in the Ocean Properties project, pointed out his company is experienced at building multi-million dollar hotel and cruise ship facilities. He said Ocean Properties? holdings in Key West and Montreal, among other cities, should reassure the council. He also took aim at Olympia?s theme that it is the local team.

?We don?t consider it a disadvantage that we?ve done business in other cities all over the country,? Mitchell said. Ocean Properties founder Tom Walsh and Vice President Robert Baldacci were also at the meeting.

Olympia spent time during its presentation explaining how it plans to fix the pier, which is in need of about $13 million in repairs, according to the city. The Portland-based development company wants to fill under part of the pier as a way of permanently fixing a seawall.

Traffic engineer Tom Gorrill of Gorrill-Palmer is a consultant for Olympia. He said the lack of parking in Olympia?s proposal is due to a forward-looking approach to urban development.

?We believe the future is going to be more multi-mode then it is today,? he said. Olympia is proposing an off-site parking garage at an undisclosed location and would spend $4.6 million on a shuttle system.

The City Council changed zoning of the 88-year-old pier last summer to allow redevelopment. Ocean Properties had approached the city about redeveloping the pier prior to the rezoning, and along with Olympia responded to a request for proposals that was due Feb. 22.

Both developers are proposing mixed-use developments, with a hotel, office building, facility for cruise ships and retail and restaurant space. Ocean Properties includes on-site, underground parking and docks for ferry and excursion boats. The company wants to build a separate pier for tugboats, which now berth at the pier.

Olympia, led by principle Kevin Mahaney and Sasa Cook, concentrated on a two-acre park and public access in its design. Consultant Alan Holt pointed out the proposal is ?Portland-scale,? with buildings reaching to the sidewalks.

Some councilors again questioned what has been a controversial review process. The Community Development Committee voted 2-1 last month to endorse the Ocean Properties proposal, which changed several times between Feb. 22 and June to appeal to public reaction and to come into compliance with state Department of Environmental Protection guidelines regulating shoreline development.

Both companies have adjusted the financial and contractual portions of their proposals.

Councilors David Marshall and Kevin Donoghue have questioned the validity of allowing changes after the February deadline for submissions.

On Monday, Marshall asked Ocean Properties to present its original Feb. 22 proposal to the council during a workshop session. Other councilors did not support his request, although they agreed with Councilor Cheryl Leeman?s request that each developer supply a summary of changes they?ve made to their proposals.

The council meets at 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 13, at City Hall to continue review of the pier proposals. Selection of a pier developer is scheduled for Aug. 20.
 
John Anton defeated marble mouth Cloutier tonight. Anton supports the Olympia project so that should win it for them. I'm happy.
 
I also look forward to some decisions being made in the near future.
 
Olympia wins nod for pier contract

The city election of Nov. 6 effectively ended a 4-4 City Council stalemate on the landmark project.

By TOM BELL, Staff Writer

December 4, 2007


The Portland City Council chose Olympia Cos. on Monday as its partner for redeveloping the Maine State Pier, the centerpiece of the council's plan to create a new urban neighborhood on the city's waterfront.

The 5-3 vote ended a three-month impasse that was settled only by the results of the city election on Nov. 6.

The city manager now will negotiate with Olympia about the terms of the lease. The council will decide later whether to accept those terms.

"Today is truly a great day for the city of Portland," Councilor David Marshall said. "We have broken the stalemate."

Chris O'Neil, a lobbyist for the Portland Community Chamber, said he shared the council's "elation" that it had reached a decision and ended a debate that began in February, when Olympia Cos. of Portland and Ocean Properties of Portsmouth, N.H., first submitted their bids. The council has been deadlocked 4-4 since September about which firm to pick.

"You can criticize. You can praise it," he told the council. "It has been a bizarre process."

Three councilors opposed the motion to begin negotiations with Olympia, saying that Ocean Properties, which has $1 billion in assets and offered to put up $100 million in escrow, has greater financial resources and more marine experience.

But Olympia's supporters said the company has a superior approach to the design process and developed stronger community support.

Olympia Cos. proposes building a hotel and a "village" of shops and restaurants on the pier, and a public park and an office building on adjacent land.

Ocean Properties proposed building the hotel and the office building on the land, and more marine uses on the pier.

The council also voted 7-1 to include in the project a deep- water berth for the world's largest cruise ships. It would be built at the end of the Ocean Gateway pier, which is under construction. Councilor Daniel Skolnik voted against the motion.

With the deadlock broken, the council can move forward, said Councilor Kevin Donohue, who supported Olympia.

Mayor Ed Suslovic and Councilors John Anton, Cheryl Leeman and Marshall also voted for Olympia. Councilors Skolnik, Jill Duson and Nicholas Mavodones Jr. voted in favor of Ocean Properties.

Councilor James Cohen recused himself because one of his law partners is a consultant for Olympia.

Olympia's design has significant permit issues that may prevent it from being built, said Skolnik, who was sworn into office earlier in Monday.

He noted that supporters of Olympia said the design can be renegotiated. He said that approach does not seem to be a fair and open public process.

"How is it transparent to vote for an unknown design?" he asked.

Because the city election effectively resolved the issue of picking a developer, the council spent most of Monday's debate battling about what kind of bargaining conditions it should set for negotiations.

Mavodones proposed that Olympia follow a set of conditions, including $10 million in upfront money, financial commitment from lenders, and deadlines for getting regulatory approval and finishing the project. Also, Mavodones said, the project should not be built in phases.

The Portland Community Chamber proposed a similar amendment, but the conditions were less stringent. The chamber said the council should require Olympia to put at least $5 million in an escrow account after both sides reach a final agreement about the lease terms and the development plan Mavodones said he is worried that problems in financial markets may prevent Kevin Mahaney, who heads Olympia, from getting the loans he needs to build parts of the project

"I have concerns it won't be done as we have asked," he said.

Duson said she wants Olympia to show that it has the financial capacity to build the project.

Both proposed amendments were defeated, 5-3, along the same lines as the vote on the developer.

Anton said it is premature to set conditions.

He added that he didn't like either proposal and he wants to open up the process to additional public input about the design. "We are at the point where we have a tangled mass of things we are trying to untangle," he said.
 
Any news is good news, right? I like forward to some more renderings.

PS- Where has everyone been lately?
 
wtf?

Work stops on Fore Street garage By Portland Press Herald Staff Report
December 07, 2007 01:42 PM


http://news.mainetoday.com/updates/019409.html


Work was suspended earlier this week, said Don Raye, vice president of CCB, Inc., a Westbrook construction company that had a small crew working at the site.

Raye said he does not know why work was suspended.

The 719-space garage is part of the $100 million Riverwalk project, which includes The Longfellow at Ocean Gateway, a 116-unit luxury condominium complex. The garage will also have spaces for Peak Island residents and for the Ocean Gateway passenger terminal, which is under construction nearby.
Click to expand...


Raye said the cost of transporting cranes is so expensive that it typically makes financial senses to keep a crane working even during a work suspension.

Work crews have already erected the framing for seven parking levels.
Raye said he expects that crews will be eventually called back to work.
?Once you have a project that far along," Raye said, ?It doesn?t make sense not to keep it going."
Click to expand...

Since I live a few blocks away now I will try to take some pictures this weekend.

Could you image if we just had half finished parking garage just sitting there? That would be awkward. It would be kind of like the Ryugyong Hotel in Nortk Korea (which you should do some research on if you aren't familiar, it's amazing.)
 
I just read that. That is very concerning. No way that's a pullout by Riverwalk is it? Not after all the money they put into it. I wonder if it is with the workers or a union.
 
From thebollard.com

God dammit this better not get f'd up.....

Riverwalk stumbling?
City meets with developers to discuss issues

By Chris Busby

Construction of the huge Riverwalk residential, office, retail and parking garage development on Portland?s eastern waterfront appears to have stopped, as rumors swirl that financing issues and other difficulties are hobbling the $100 million-plus project.

Construction workers have been removing equipment from the site of the partially built parking garage along Fore Street this week. Project spokesman and development partner Drew Swenson has not returned calls seeking comment. An assistant for project partner Fred Forsley directed questions to Swenson.

In response to inquiries, City Manager Joe Gray?s office released a statement this afternoon confirming that city staff met with the developers this morning, and further meetings are expected, but offering little insight beyond that.

?The economy is a factor for them just like it is for everyone,? Gray?s statement read, ?so while it is certainly understandable that there may be some delays, that is not a given at this point in time.?

Mayor Ed Suslovic attended today?s meeting. ?It sounds like they?re doing some reconfiguring on financing,? he said. ?The concern from the city?s standpoint is the parking garage.?

The 720-car, six-deck garage was expected to be completed next spring. Its timely completion is especially important to islanders whose mainland parking options are being limited by other construction in the area ? most notably Ocean Gateway, the public marine passenger terminal expected to be completed next spring.

Suslovic could offer no further insights into the project?s prospects, but he also said it is too soon to definitively say it will be delayed. He added that there was some talk of ?material shortages,? but said he was ?unclear? whether construction had halted as a result.

Other elected officials are also in the dark. ?It looked like work was slowing down and there may be some funding issues,? said Councilor Nick Mavodones. ?I?ve heard people say they?re looking for financers.?

Riverwalk LLC, the original partnership behind the project, has since established a financial partnership with Intercontinental Real Estate Corp., a Boston-based development company. A call placed earlier today to Nick Iselin, Intercontinental?s development director, was not returned.

Retail space at the base of the garage is being marketed by Malone Commercial Brokers, a Portland firm. Peter Harrington, the broker handling leasing of the space, did not return a call seeking comment today. Promotional materials on Malone?s Web site say the garage and retail space are scheduled to be completed and available next April.

In addition to the garage, a five-story office building is planned to rise next door, at the corner of Fore and India streets. Malone?s promotional materials say that building is expected to be ready by the end of next year.

In addition to the garage and office building, Riverwalk has planned to build a 122-unit luxury condominium complex ? with underground parking, a restaurant and additional retail space ? along the newly paved eastward extension of Commercial Street, called Thames Street. There?s little evidence of any progress on that phase of the development.

All told, the four-acre project's value could top $100 million. The city sold Riverwalk a parcel of land in 2005 and agreed to give the developers a $5 million tax break to facilitate construction of the garage, which is also intended to meet demand created by Ocean Gateway.
 
Project has it's financing and is back on as scheduled according to channel 6. See
www.wcsh6.com for the story and vid. The Marriot hotel also applied for a building permit today which is another good sign. That is going next to the garage.
 
*Breathes a sigh of relief*

Thanks for the good news
 
Hideous. Poor Portland, tallest building in the area and it's a parking garage.
 
I know it looks rough now but eventually we will have more of this type of stuff going on in the same area along with 2 other projects of similar size...

westin1.jpg
 
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