Portland Bayside

I don't know what the law is, but site plan approvals expire on March 3 – they're surely not going to break ground by that point and I doubt they'll even have a permit by then, unless the city's unusually fast with this one.

Does anyone know whether the application alone is sufficient to keep the planning board approval alive?
 
cneal said:
I don't know what the law is, but site plan approvals expire on March 3 – they're surely not going to break ground by that point and I doubt they'll even have a permit by then, unless the city's unusually fast with this one.

Does anyone know whether the application alone is sufficient to keep the planning board approval alive?
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based on the PPH article a few weeks ago, it sounded like they intended to get their permits before their planning approval expires (which I believe is March 24th) the bigger question is whether they need to actually BREAK GROUND on the project to keep their permits and approvals...or can they get their permit then sit on it for a year...
 
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Cosakita18 said:
I'm starting to think that Federated never actually INTENDED to build anything....They've stalled and delayed for 3 years now over petty bickering with the city.

Time to get them out of the picture and find a new developer for the lots. It's good real estate and I'm sure there are other interested parties who would be more upfront and transparent.
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I was told 3+ years ago by a very reputable Portland Commercial Real Estate/developer that Federated would likely never build anything at Midtown. Sadly, it appears that they were correct. Time for both Federated and the City of Portland to move on.
 
portlandneedsnewarena said:
I was told 3+ years ago by a very reputable Portland Commercial Real Estate/developer that Federated would likely never build anything at Midtown. Sadly, it appears that they were correct. Time for both Federated and the City of Portland to move on.
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Even if Federated goes through with this lawsuit and wins... They still won't build anything. Their planning approval has permanently expired now. Even if they wanted to build the scaled-down version of the project they had approval for, they would have to go through the site plan and planning process all over again. That's about as likely to happen as Amazon building their new headquarters in Aroostook County.

Interesting tidbit from the "Forecaster" article

The city also has the right to repurchase the land at the price for which it was sold.

“We would be open to a conversation about that,” Jennings said.
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Seems like that might be the best path forward.
 
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Press Herald article about accusations of fraud and a lawsuit related to the Midtown project

A Vermont construction company is suing the developers of the failed “Midtown” project in Portland, saying the corporate structure set up by the developers was designed to allow them to walk away without paying some of its contractors.

PC Construction Co. said it provided substantial pre-construction services on the project that cost at least $235,000.
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word at the v.a health center here in Portland is there in talks of moving to part of were midtown was suppose to go ,five story building.with little campus
 
tazzman said:
word at the v.a health center here in Portland is there in talks of moving to part of were midtown was suppose to go ,five story building.with little campus
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I'd hate to see them go low on the Bayside site, but it wouldn't surprise me if the VA moved. The building they're in is hemmed in by Wex on one side, and the new parking garage site where Hamilton Marine is ( they've already talked about moving down by Portland Yacht Services).
 
Where are they now? And can you add any more specifics about their plans or who said what? Did it sound like a rumor or potential interest, or like a deal had been inked? Thanks for the info!
 
markhb said:
I'd hate to see them go low on the Bayside site, but it wouldn't surprise me if the VA moved. The building they're in is hemmed in by Wex on one side, and the new parking garage site where Hamilton Marine is ( they've already talked about moving down by Portland Yacht Services).
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At this point, anything is better than those trash-filled empty lots. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Federated is ditching the land and selling it to whatever party is interested. I know the city is still eager to get a garage built for the purposes of encouraging other development in Bayside.
 
PortlandArch said:
Where are they now? And can you add any more specifics about their plans or who said what? Did it sound like a rumor or potential interest, or like a deal had been inked? Thanks for the info!
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one of the nurses when I was there with my father for his appointment,she said the area between elm and chestnut behind trader joes
 
PortlandArch said:
Where are they now? And can you add any more specifics about their plans or who said what? Did it sound like a rumor or potential interest, or like a deal had been inked? Thanks for the info!
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They're at 144 Fore St., in the same building as Chase Leavitt (at least I'm assuming that's the office in question). That's the building whose owner was the losing bidder for the WEX site and which will be between WEX and the planned parking garage I spoke of.
 
cneal said:
The city's new planning website shows a recent a zoning text amendment application for 100 Fore St, the current site of the VA office:

https://egweb.portlandmaine.gov/EnerGovProd/SelfService/#/plan/7df994f5-2991-46c4-848b-8d4adff2d280

It's described only as "5-story parking garage/office".
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Nitpick: the VA is in 144 Fore Street; 100 Fore Street is the Hamilton Marine building. The VA sits between Hamilton Marine and the new WEX location.

But this new planning site is pretty cool!
 
^ It's a different street address, but the same owner – Mike Marino/Jackrabbit LLC, who put in the losing bid to buy the land where Wex is going up now.
 
cneal said:
^ It's a different street address, but the same owner – Mike Marino/Jackrabbit LLC, who put in the losing bid to buy the land where Wex is going up now.
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I hate to harp on this (and we're not even in the right thread for the conversation :) ), but I don't believe you're correct. My understanding is that the 100 Fore St. site, where Hamilton Marine is and where the parking garage is going to go, is owned by Jonathan Cohen's group, the same folks that are building the WEX HQ. Jackrabbit only owns the VA building at 144 Fore, which is hemmed in between the two Cohen properties.
 
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