Old Port Square (née Canal Plaza) | Portland

If you've never seen it before, the Census Bureau's On The Map site has great data on commuting patterns. I understand it's based on IRS W-9 data, which records where people live and where they work:

https://onthemap.ces.census.gov/

According to this, there are about 40,000 "primary" jobs on the Portland peninsula; about 29% of workers are in the "Health Care and Social Assistance" sector (the hospitals), 14% in "Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services", 10% in hospitality and food service, 7% in Finance and Insurance, and 5% in Retail Trade.

At the same time, only about 12,000 workers live on the peninsula – and of those, about 2/3rds of them commute somewhere off-peninsula for work. About 35K workers commute in to work from outside of the peninsula - almost 90% of downtown workers. Only ~4,400 workers both live and work on the peninsula.

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Lots of good thoughts and I don't want to give too much away, but I can respond to some of the items that have been brought up!

@cneal your outline captures most of our ownership within the site, but it misses the Boyd Block at 178 Middle Street, the Widgery Block at 36 Exchange Street, and the Thomas Block II at 44 Exchange Street. We also have our properties on the other side of Exchange Street. The Exchange Street and Middle Street corridors are arguably the two most important streets bordering the site, and one of our main goals is to focus on reweaving the historic fabric into the rest of the site. Interesting to hear structured parking is typically thought of as a loss leader (maybe in more suburban environments?). The Fore Street Garage is actually running at about 250% occupancy currently and we intend to continue to push that number up with complementary parking usage. Boulos's numbers are always a little bit off. We are actually 100% occupancy (leased) in One, Two, and Three Canal Plaza for class A office for a number of years. The health of the class A market is very different than the class B and C markets, particularly at OPSQ.

@markhb KeyBank has 1 level (about 14,000 RSF) of One Canal Plaza.

@Portlander that is a really good point and something we will definitely think about. History and context is really important to me and while the 'Canal Plaza' name will not live on in terms of usage, including that piece of its history with urban renewal (and economic growth) is worthwhile.

@PWMFlyer we hired an Outdoor Activation Consultant in January so that is definitely in the program. Some things will be included in the unveiling, but others are still in the works. Expect many more announcements throughout the summer about more outdoor events. Also, we are always in dialog with CMP and will have some updates to that area of the site, (nothing too crazy), for the eagle-eyed.
 
Is anyone going ? And does the 6 month extension of hotel moratorium affect the progress of paperwork for this project?
 
I've gotta work today but looking forward to learning about the plans.

Re: the hotel moratorium, I'm pretty sure they filed a site plan application back in November (along with a bunch of other developers) in order to get in before the moratorium officially took effect.
 
archinect.com

Safdie Architects to design Maine's tallest building as part of Portland downtown renewal

Safdie Architects has previewed their new district-sized development for Portland, Maine. The plan for Old Port Square, which reimagines a 4-acre plot in the city’s Old Port neighborhood, calls for the construction of a new 380-foot mixed-use tower (the state’s tallest) and a reintegration of...
archinect.com archinect.com

I did the walk through the project is awesome
 
@Portlander - I got my renderings! :p

I like it - it looks better than any of the older depictions. I like the addition on Temple St. where the old teller drive through was.

Looks like Novare Res might get a facelift - hopefully not pushed out. Though it is a big space - they could lose the spot with the fire place and still have plenty of room. But I earned my chalice and tiny cubicle of real estate in the Old Port!!

Now if we could just add a couple more 30-story buildings behind One Portland Square or Top of the Old Port.
 
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Just returned from the unveiling which was a nice event with around 100 attendees. Have known Tim Soley for many years and he introduced me to the legendary architect Moshe Safdie and also had a chance to meet Jacob Soley who was very kind and accommodating. Portland's future is in good hands with the Soley family and their vision is above and beyond anything the city has ever seen and hopefully this project proceeds without too many hurdles. Now for the most important numbers: The tower is planned for 30 floors for a total height of 380 feet. Many photos will follow this post.

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