Lewiston, Maine's second largest city.

Just a neat pic I found online. Never been here before but I think I will find a time to swing through, maybe next time I'm in Maine in late November.

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Lewiston’s tallest building planned for residential redevelopment

"The narrow width of the building posed some interesting design challenges, he said.

The biggest challenge centered on egress. The existing staircase and hallway run along one side of the building. The problem was to figure out where to fit a second interior staircase. The final layout is still in the works with his architect, but one idea is to build a second staircase at the back of the building, leaving the existing staircase and hallway mostly intact.


That would result in three apartment units per floor of around 600 to 700 square feet each."

exterior_0.jpg
(from Maine Realty Advisors)

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(Jason Hutchins)

staircase.jpg
(Jason Hutchins)
 
nomc said:
Lewiston’s tallest building planned for residential redevelopment

"The narrow width of the building posed some interesting design challenges, he said.

The biggest challenge centered on egress. The existing staircase and hallway run along one side of the building. The problem was to figure out where to fit a second interior staircase. The final layout is still in the works with his architect, but one idea is to build a second staircase at the back of the building, leaving the existing staircase and hallway mostly intact.


That would result in three apartment units per floor of around 600 to 700 square feet each."

View attachment 33675 (from Maine Realty Advisors)

View attachment 33676 (Jason Hutchins)

View attachment 33677 (Jason Hutchins)
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Will be a gorgeous building to live in. Curious what the first floor big windows will become.
 
Interesting times, the conversion of office buildings into residential and lodging purposes is something I would have never predicted a decade ago. The transformation of two of Portland's classic high rises, Press Herald Building, an empty Masonic Building and adding Lewiston's most significant office building to the list is a little unsettling for me but I understand cities must adapt. Curious to see how this declining need for office space will effect the mega cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, Houston, Charlotte, Seattle and Dallas whose downtown areas are infested with office towers? Maybe we're looking at the continued demise of older Class B and C office towers that will be transformed, demolished or remain vacant for decades while flashy Class A buildings end up surviving the transition.
 
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Great news for Lewiston. Not enamored with the new name or the proposed location of the building on Beech Street, a site closer to Lisbon Street and the center of downtown would have been better in my opinion.
 
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Portlander said:
Great news for Lewiston. Not enamored with the name change or the proposed location of the new building on Beech Street, a site closer to Lisbon Street and the center of downtown would have been better in my opinion.
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I was going to say the same; that spot is about as prominent and easy to access as Danforth.
 
Portlander said:
View attachment 33921
Great news for Lewiston. Not enamored with the new name or the proposed location of the building on Beech Street, a site closer to Lisbon Street and the center of downtown would have been better in my opinion.
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There was this other article yesterday that didn't have much new info in it: Lewiston draws developers and entrepreneurs seeking space, affordability — and opportunity

It did, however, remind me that there are plans for the mill complex which sits right next to this location. What I didn't realize is that the conversion of the 79,000 SF 2 Beech St mill has already started (72 workforce and market-rate units) and that Chinburg owns the rest of the 560,000 complex and plans 300 units. Chinburg also owns Hill Mill across the street (460,000 SF) and it is 70% leased with light manufacturing and other commercial tenants.

I just looked at the area on Google Maps - look at all the empty lots. This could be a Bayside-like opportunity for Lewiston, reimagining a whole section of town. And the Bates Mill is within walking distance, you've already got restaurants, a bakery, an arts center, a large park in place.
 
The Beech Street location of the museum will bring more activity to Railroad Park and the riverfront area which is a positive. (y)
 
nomc said:
There was this other article yesterday that didn't have much new info in it: Lewiston draws developers and entrepreneurs seeking space, affordability — and opportunity

It did, however, remind me that there are plans for the mill complex which sits right next to this location. What I didn't realize is that the conversion of the 79,000 SF 2 Beech St mill has already started (72 workforce and market-rate units) and that Chinburg owns the rest of the 560,000 complex and plans 300 units. Chinburg also owns Hill Mill across the street (460,000 SF) and it is 70% leased with light manufacturing and other commercial tenants.

I just looked at the area on Google Maps - look at all the empty lots. This could be a Bayside-like opportunity for Lewiston, reimagining a whole section of town. And the Bates Mill is within walking distance, you've already got restaurants, a bakery, an arts center, a large park in place.
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You can think the same Biddeford with all of the empty lots near the mills. They're starting to fill in. It's only a matter of time before Lewiston follows suit. Especially since people are being priced out of Portland.
 
Now imagine if the rail line a block away had high-frequency passenger / commuter service connecting those hundreds new units to the state's largest employment hub and onward to Boston...just a silly thought...
 
nomc said:
Jason Levesque’s residential development in Lewiston moves forward

The Auburn mayor has a development in the works for Lewiston, three buildings, 400 total units. First proposed building is 150 units.

View attachment 42312

View attachment 42313

The development would be located in this parking lot behind the Dempsey Center:

View attachment 42314
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Impressive project! Too bad there's a white elephant parking garage blocking views of the river.

From the story, it sounds as though nobody's even using it:
"The 590-space parking garage, which Levesque said is empty, is planned to serve tenants of both residential buildings."
 
The garage may also serve the hospital once the buildings are up, since they're currently using the parking lots per the PPH.
 
cneal said:
Impressive project! Too bad there's a white elephant parking garage blocking views of the river.

From the story, it sounds as though nobody's even using it:
"The 590-space parking garage, which Levesque said is empty, is planned to serve tenants of both residential buildings."
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The placement of stuff like this blocking scenic views and taking up valuable waterfront permeates the entire state. Notice how many old cemeteries have the best views....lol. Hopefully we are at a time and place where new developments are smarter in this regard.
 
Lewiston and Auburn say ‘yes’ to development | Mainebiz.biz

Some exciting land use change happening in Maine's second city to encourage development

from the article:

Among the specifics, modified zoning of nearly 375 properties within Sabattus, Lisbon and Main Street corridors, including increased depth of commercial zoning districts, reduced setbacks providing more space for development and more opportunities for multi-family development.

Multi-family development is now allowed in the three corridors, in order to increase housing supply, make more efficient use of the land, enhance neighborhood and urban vitality, and improve access to amenities.

Within the greater downtown area, where properties are closer to public transportation, sidewalks and municipal parking facilities, parking standards were reduced to provide more opportunity for lot development. For example, new businesses will likely not have to provide parking on site in much of the downtown.

In some neighborhoods, the city now permits small stores and food establishments in order to increase neighborhood vibrancy and quality of life.
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The LewBurn area is really positioning itself for lots of growth and revitalization in coming years!
 
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