Infill and Small Developments | Portland

It looked like a delivery truck was unloading a bunch of appliances into the Schwartz building this morning, so it seems like real progress is being made in finally bringing this building back to life. According to this website there will be 12 apartments over ground floor retail, opening this summer:

www.shinbergconsulting.com

Renovation of the Schwartz Building — Shinberg Consulting

Work progresses on the historic Schwartz building at 602 Congress Street in Portland, ME, bringing back the historic elements of this Portland landmark.
www.shinbergconsulting.com www.shinbergconsulting.com
 
I need to shout out this reno's commitment to slate and copper. This is on the eastern prom, but I think I saw one or two other projects in the west end that are also using slate/copper.

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In case anybody is wondering why Congress Square looks like it's stuck - it is!

Two utility vaults (owned by CMP and CC - neither knew they existed) were hit by a backhoe, destroying the concrete covers. One of the covers needs to be custom made, thus the delay.
 
The 5 India landscaping, materials, colors and urban feel are exquisite. Everything really works well.

And really like the way they wove that street lamp into the power lines.:LOL:
 
mainejeff said:
The 5 India landscaping, materials, colors and urban feel are exquisite. Everything really works well.

And really like the way they wove that street lamp into the power lines.:LOL:
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As a horticulturist and landscape designer I can tell you that it looks good now but many of the plants planted in this area area inappropriate for a setting with so much dense shade. proper design with shade loving plants could have made this area lush and beautiful.
 
I don't think anyone has picked up on this yet: the Queen Bee Food Mart C-store going in where the trees were in front of Riverton Park, across from Tortilla Flat on Forest Ave. It's actually pretty striking when approached from the Westbrook side, although it looks like there's a pit being dug for gas tanks so maybe a canopy will block some of that view.
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One interesting thing about this one is that they've put a door facing directly onto the Forest Ave. sidewalk, in addition to the regular front door facing the parking lot and pumps.
 
PlantArch said:
As a horticulturist and landscape designer I can tell you that it looks good now but many of the plants planted in this area area inappropriate for a setting with so much dense shade. proper design with shade loving plants could have made this area lush and beautiful.
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Agreed. I think interesting and smaller buildings like this, with intelligent landscape design outside as well, are what can make a city great. I've had to do a lot of work in Houston lately, and I still have little reference point with the downtown buildings. Everything looks similar, bland, and uninspiring. If Portland buried its power lines downtown, power washed the sidewalks, cleaned up the curbside dirt. leaves, trash, added more flower beds along sidewalks, more subtle public art, the city would be levels above any other city in New England, other than Boston. Read the last entry for Hartford in the arch listing. Depressing place. I had no idea it was relatively deserted, though driving past the skyline it looks inviting. Not. Providence is a bit better, but Portland is now the place to be (other than Boston). Like I said, clean it up some more and that alone takes it up a level. And yes, the power lines and pole burials will make a difference. I talked to a guy here in Houston who mentioned that. He visited Portland and that was a big takeaway for him. "Why is that allowed?" he asked.
 
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A lot of factors come into play when it comes to underground utilities...Cost. Weather, climate, old infrastructure. When CMP was Maine owned it seemed it was easier to get things done. Now with a foreign entity, it seems everything is on a pole because its cheaper. They don't care about if it looks ugly. The Portland Planning board several years ago mandated that everything part of a project was supposed to be buried. I guess that mandate flew out the door.
 
matt.greeson said:
I'm not sure if my eyes deceived me, but I am pretty sure this is the second time they've put up the same fire stairs.
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Your eyes do not deceive, this is indeed the 2nd version of the fire stairs. It looks like a fair amount of manual labor to build these on site, so must have had some unfixable issue with the first one they built.
 
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