Portland Bayside

nomc said:
Aren't they the ones building 52 Hanover? Or is Tom Watson doing it under a different entity?
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I've heard only Tom Watson's name associated with this, or up until now. But I would assume Port Property put up the money for it with their bank/s, so they are a partner. To build a quality property, I think it's only two things to get things going: someone who knows what they are doing, and money. But the money rules. Apparently, or today, money can do anything, even cause our most beloved actors and sports figures to participate in a giant financial scam! (FTX)
 
This is exciting news. Having recently driven around Bayside....this area can go nowhere but up. It's really the gateway to the city and viewed by thousands everyday from 295. Let's hope that the new development is both functional and attractive....and don't be afraid to plant a few trees!
 
mainejeff said:
This is exciting news. Having recently driven around Bayside....this area can go nowhere but up. It's really the gateway to the city and viewed by thousands everyday from 295. Let's hope that the new development is both functional and attractive....and don't be afraid to plant a few trees!
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Hopefully the 7300 sf of recovered impervious area will be thoughtful green space.
 
More trees and rocks. I like the embedded natural rock thing in the ground, like Post Office Park in the Old Port has. Boston's Seaport area is on this idea too, with a massive walkable green space designed within a cluster of new hi-rises going up now. Portland has to be careful though. It doesn't want to wake up one day and say, "What have we done to our city?" But smart planning can avoid it. Simply look at other cities and places that have done it right, and model that--especially European ones. I was in Basel, Switzerland a few months ago for a week and came back simply thinking and saying "Wow." It's a city utopia, in many ways.
 
TC_zoid said:
More trees and rocks. I like the embedded natural rock thing in the ground, like Post Office Park in the Old Port has. Boston's Seaport area is on this idea too, with a massive walkable green space designed within a cluster of new hi-rises going up now. Portland has to be careful though. It doesn't want to wake up one day and say, "What have we done to our city?" But smart planning can avoid it. Simply look at other cities and places that have done it right, and model that--especially European ones. I was in Basel, Switzerland a few months ago for a week and came back simply thinking and saying "Wow." It's a city utopia, in many ways.
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Exactly....this isn't reinventing the wheel....it's copying what other cities and developments have done right. You can't go wrong with natural light and natural elements! Some places in Europe and Asia make us look third world.
 
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TC_zoid said:
More trees and rocks. I like the embedded natural rock thing in the ground, like Post Office Park in the Old Port has. Boston's Seaport area is on this idea too, with a massive walkable green space designed within a cluster of new hi-rises going up now. Portland has to be careful though. It doesn't want to wake up one day and say, "What have we done to our city?" But smart planning can avoid it. Simply look at other cities and places that have done it right, and model that--especially European ones. I was in Basel, Switzerland a few months ago for a week and came back simply thinking and saying "Wow." It's a city utopia, in many ways.
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Haha - Portland saying "What have we done to our city?" is a little late. But hopefully they won't be saying that because they built too many stout/stubby buildings in all of the available lots and have no space to build upward.
 
Browsing through Twitter and I saw this rendering of a new mixed-use project in Philadelphia with ~900 apartments and Commercial office space.

It's a -bit- bigger than the Port Properties proposal in terms of units and overall square footage, but Just like what they're proposing in Bayside...these units are spread out in multiple buildings on multiple lots and include commercial space. It seems like a good comparison.

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Thought this would be a good example of just how big 800 units really is...even spread out over multiple parcels.

Makes me even more eager to see massings and renderings
 
DanielPWM19 said:
Haha - Portland saying "What have we done to our city?" is a little late. But hopefully they won't be saying that because they built too many stout/stubby buildings in all of the available lots and have no space to build upward.
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You're absolutely correct. In so many ways that ship has sailed and can only be corrected with tremendous new investments. Portland has some of the worst urban green spaces I have ever seen. And that's my gig.
 
We have our first look at the scope of what's being proposed for the Port Properties Bayside Master Plan
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It looks like they're proposing several 8-10 story buildings and nearly maxing out allowable heights on every parcel... Also proposing green space and shared-street plazas on Lancaster Street and improvements to Elm, Chestnut and Prebble Streets.

This could really be a MASSIVE transformation for Bayside and downtown.

(Housekeeping suggestion...since this is a huge proposal involving multiple parcels and a prolonged buildout...I propose we keep discussion of the Master Plan to this thread and create new project-specific threads for each phase as they advance through planning and construction)
 
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Thanks for the posting. It's exciting to see a notable plan for the continued transformation of Bayside. Any rumors about the massive old storage building? It's sandwiched in between some of their builds and the potential ones on the Federated lots. It's bisecting, dividing and if razed, would be key to the area unifying a bit more. Remove that and the scrapyards, and Bayside could be the go-to area for living and dining and drinking in Portland.
 
TC_zoid said:
Thanks for the posting. It's exciting to see a notable plan for the continued transformation of Bayside. Any rumors about the massive old storage building? It's sandwiched in between some of their builds and the potential ones on the Federated lots. It's bisecting, dividing and if razed, would be key to the area unifying a bit more. Remove that and the scrapyards, and Bayside could be the go-to area for living and dining and drinking in Portland.
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I've been saying the Noyes storage building should be razed and used as landfill since they need to raise the flood plain down there. Most of Bayside is landfill from the Great Fire anyhow.

The Baxter Academy [et al] should be razed in its entirety (rather than only the side wing) to allow for new buildings. Looks like #74 Elm, Two Fat Cats, Complete Labor & Staffing buildings will go. I wish the Salvation Army buildings on Cumberland and Preble would go. The old Goodwill Industries building on Cumberland is an eyesore I'd love to see go. I kind of liked #75 Preble and thought it'd make an attractive restaurant, but oh well.

So I count 4-6 buildings that will be razed?

Three 10 story buildings are a great, and two 5-8 story buildings. Too bad they're not 15 stories, but I digress.

Wasn't there an article a couple years back about some unknown group buying up a bunch of properties in Bayside (Alder and Preble Streets)? Makes me wonder if whoever that was may redevelop as well.
 
DanielPWM19 said:
Three 10 story buildings are a great, and two 5-8 story buildings. Too bad they're not 15 stories, but I digress.
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I wish/hope they would push it and try for taller - with limited space, height is important.

If more parking must be added I really wish it wasn't accomplished with surface lots, so inefficient - those buildings could be larger and/or incorporate more green space.
 
I think by this time next year the feeling of urgency will begin for taller buildings. I see no reduction in interest in living in Portland, especially with all that's going on in Boston. There is a lot more of working remotely, so why not live in Portland instead of Boston? Bayside could be it. If you need to go to TD Garden to see a game or concert, how much better can it be than the comfortable Downeaster dropping you off a few feet from the escalator up to the lobby? The irony is that it is perhaps as convenient to get to the Garden from Portland than it is for many in the outlying areas of Boston, with the exception of the D Line. It's a straight shot with the Downeaster.
 
My dream crazy-transit pitch for Portland is a light rail line running down the Union Branch to the waterfront, street-running down Kennebec/Somerset St and then in the median of Franklin St (I’m pretty sure I’ve posted it on this forum before). I’m happy they’re converting the old dump plots to a nice big green space, that would leave plenty of room to widen Somerset St a bit. A streetcar would complement this whole area nicely and would definitely spur more development.
 
BosMaineiac said:
My dream crazy-transit pitch for Portland is a light rail line running down the Union Branch to the waterfront, street-running down Kennebec/Somerset St and then in the median of Franklin St (I’m pretty sure I’ve posted it on this forum before). I’m happy they’re converting the old dump plots to a nice big green space, that would leave plenty of room to widen Somerset St a bit. A streetcar would complement this whole area nicely and would definitely spur more development.
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… and if that streetcar line could then turn from Franklin onto Commercial, which is already wide enough for a center-running streetcar (if delivery trucks weren’t ‘parking’ there all day) then the line could turn north again along St John Street and pass the “New Union Station” and then begin that loop again — or continue north-west out to Westbrook, etc.
 
Looking at the proposal sent by Cosakita18 it’s obviously very impressive, would like to see a little more height, but one area I’m particularly excited for is Lancaster Street. I’m sure it will be down the road a ways (time wise) but the buildings 3 and 5B will make up a very good looking intersection both standing at 10 stories tall.
There is a lot of room for development around those two buildings too so let’s hope we could see taller buildings placed behind (or in front depending on how you look at it) 3 and 5B to give this a true downtown feel.
Can’t wait for some renderings, anyone have any guesses when those will be made available?
 
As much as I would love to see more height in these buildings, I have to imagine the soils in Bayside would require extensive pilings like the Intermed building, which would increase costs and require a significantly higher percentage of market-rate vs. affordable units, thus making the structures out of code with the affordable housing ordinance.
 
Soils may be one issue, but it looks to me as though they're basically maxing out what would be allowed under the city's current zoning (see post #55).

The application summary data in the CSS portal still shows that they're planning a 394,000 SF of commercial/retail space, a 200,000 SF net increase to what's currently there. I still don't see where that's going to go from this sketch plan, which only shows about ~30,000 SF of new ground-floor retail spaces in these 8 planned buildings – plus, it shows that they're planning to tear down about 25,000 SF of existing commercial space in three single-story buildings along Lancaster, so there's 195,000 SF of commercial space that's unaccounted for in this sketch.

The warehouse building at 185 Lancaster Street (the Baxter Academy building) is two stories tall with a footprint of about 40,000 SF, and that block has a 105' height limit, so maybe they're also planning 6+ story vertical addition to that building, and/or to 190 Lancaster Street (which is smaller and has a 85' height limit)?
 
Cosakita18 said:
We have our first look at the scope of what's being proposed for the Port Properties Bayside Master Plan
View attachment 33425

It looks like they're proposing several 8-10 story buildings and nearly maxing out allowable heights on every parcel... Also proposing green space and shared-street plazas on Lancaster Street and improvements to Elm, Chestnut and Prebble Streets.

This could really be a MASSIVE transformation for Bayside and downtown.

(Housekeeping suggestion...since this is a huge proposal involving multiple parcels and a prolonged buildout...I propose we keep discussion of the Master Plan to this thread and create new project-specific threads for each phase as they advance through planning and construction)
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Well how elitist can we get? We're going to dump ALL 201 affordable rate apartments into ONE building and be done with it. We would HATE to have to mingle with THOSE people.
 
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