Portland Foreside | 58 Fore Street | Portland
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Sun Life Building Under Construction and Portland Co Sign - Thames Street
Portlander
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The Sun Life Building appears to be more attractive when Corey takes a photo of it!
Thank you kindly (the trick is having good lighting). Have to say I like this water side of the building and the streetscape overall. Not crazy about the Fore Street side but maybe it will grow on me. I still work at Unum's campus by the jetport so pretty jealous of the new Sun Life digs.
You must be stuck in HO2 instead of HO3. HO2 is a dump. But that may have changed since I was there.
The Phoenix published a piece about the zoning appeals board overturning the city's ruling on occupancy arrangements in the new SunLife building and this tidbit was in there:
"Prentice was in Boston Monday, meeting with architects for the next step in the development, which is creating 250 market-rate apartments scheduled to go before the Planning Board in August. After that, they will begin work on a hotel and then a condominium project."
"Prentice was in Boston Monday, meeting with architects for the next step in the development, which is creating 250 market-rate apartments scheduled to go before the Planning Board in August. After that, they will begin work on a hotel and then a condominium project."
TC_zoid
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Good find. Another example of city zoning laws not adapting to the way people live and work today (tiny homes and apartments too). I'll bet close to half the employees at Sun Life will work primarily at home, the way they do at WEX. Another dumb thing (they do that, dumb things) the city did was deny a permit for the public use marina bar. Now, we, the public can't enjoy or participate in the marina or its immediate area without spending a lot of money. One way is to rent it out for a private party (expensive), or leasing a boat slip, or chartering a sailboat. I did this with friends in September of 2020, on a schooner. It cost me $900 for two hours to sail around in Casco Bay on a perfect day. It was worth it. But the middle class and lower won't be enjoying this area unless they do the aforementioned. But they can eat at Twelve, next door. It's $82 for the minimum set course menu, so not typical Mainer fare. But I guess you can have a drink at the bar. Beer.The Phoenix published a piece about the zoning appeals board overturning the city's ruling on occupancy arrangements in the new SunLife building and this tidbit was in there:
"Prentice was in Boston Monday, meeting with architects for the next step in the development, which is creating 250 market-rate apartments scheduled to go before the Planning Board in August. After that, they will begin work on a hotel and then a condominium project."
Interesting Prentice says they have "great traction" on the retail front - I kind of assumed the retail would mostly sit vacant like a lot of the retail in new construction, especially since the area is relatively remote (ie not near Old Port) and is going to be a construction site for 10 years. I guess it could not be true and just be a tactic to attract more retail interest to the area?
Also, it doesn't seem like they mention work on the conversation of the existing old brick buildings - I wonder if that's been pushed back to a later phase?
Also, it doesn't seem like they mention work on the conversation of the existing old brick buildings - I wonder if that's been pushed back to a later phase?
After reading this article I happened to be down in this area at 10:30 last night. Half of the seats at Twelve were still occupied by stragglers while the rest of downtown was a ghost town. The other more interesting bit is that the city of Portland cannot be anywhere ready to issue an occupancy permit of any kind for the Sun Life building. The building is an empty shell with many months of interior work required before the company or any retail could move in.The Phoenix published a piece about the zoning appeals board overturning the city's ruling on occupancy arrangements in the new SunLife building and this tidbit was in there:
"Prentice was in Boston Monday, meeting with architects for the next step in the development, which is creating 250 market-rate apartments scheduled to go before the Planning Board in August. After that, they will begin work on a hotel and then a condominium project."
Dr. StrangeHat
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I know several people at Sun Life and FullScopeRMS. They're not moving in until sometime between February and April of 2023.
The advantage of being a few weeks into "one of the country’s most anticipated restaurant openings of the year"
markhb
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I think Twelve will be an interesting demonstration of how the Portland market has, or has not, changed in the past decade. The high-end, chef-driven, prix fixe concept was done 15+ years ago by Erik Desjarlais at Bandol (I never went), and he said in an interview when he closed that his winters basically depended on a few devotees who would come up from Boston to eat there. So we'll see how things go for this place in January; my thought all along regarding the new, top of the line condos that have gone up has been, "if you can take your work anywhere you want, why would you live in Portland in February?"
I think I read that the restaurant will only be open seasonally, so they don't have to worry about winter business for now. Based only my observations, I would say that year-round high-end restaurants are more feasible now than they were 15+ years ago, but the last two winters have been skewed by the pandemic and I suppose this winter's crowds will be determined in part by the Covid situation.
Big difference in Portland this summer over the last 2, the city is missing that "European" outdoor vibe that came along with all of the outdoor restaurant/bar seating options. We bring people to Portland to visit where we grew up, they have been blown away over the last few summers walking/biking from Bissell Brothers to East Bayside to the Marina Bar, not to mention the Old Port. Talk of "Let's meet every summer in Portland!" over the last few seasons has turned to "What happened to the vibe here? I wonder what other small cities have cool waterfront scenes that we could try?" The Marina Bar, King's Head parking lot patio and many other great outdoor spots are gone. Even impossible places to get into, Luke's, Luna Bar, Becky's, Yosaku's deck, we walked right in without a wait. Another thing we noticed was that people were driving like freaks, speeding, running red lights, swerving to miss people in cross-walks, passing on the inside on Commercial St - hope the City managers are not surprised when something tragic happens, we didn't see officer or patrol car anywhere. I don't know the details behind the City Council's decisions to kill the outdoor dining scene, but maybe they should focus on traffic safety. Don't believe it when they blame tourism dollars are down because the economy is down - special, dynamic, agile cities can still thrive. The Marina Bar was the perfect example, turning a dirt lot into one of the best day time, live music hangouts in the country. On a positive note, maybe some of the condo prices will drop and we'll be ready to move back when we get a new City Council that supports local business and future development projects.
matt.greeson
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The city doesn't care about small businesses. The attitude is literally "they don't need X and Y" and "why do people care about restaurants when there's a homeless crisis?" I'd like to think we can walk and chew gum.
TC_zoid
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Yes, the marina bar was a cool hang. By not allowing it to open again, the city's "sharp as a tack" overlords have de facto isolated the public from this marina. It's now only for the rich, the mega yacht types, or you can rent a schooner for $300 an hour at a slip and drink on it, and then motor out into the bay (did that in Sep. of 2020--it was worth it).
Cosakita18
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Maybe if the development team hadn't violated their own master plan, lied to the planning board and neighborhood and then completely wrecked the eastern waterfront trail with their "temporary" marina, they would have had a bit more grace from the City Council. That bar closure flyer is unprofessional, childish and really shows the sense of entitlement the developers of this project have. They broke the rules, and now they play the victim.
I don't want to sound overly harsh. I WANT this area to be vibrant and for this project to succeed but I struggle to find sympathy for this development team.
I don't want to sound overly harsh. I WANT this area to be vibrant and for this project to succeed but I struggle to find sympathy for this development team.
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TC_zoid
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You aren't harsh. I have that impression too. And from what I've heard, it's why Jim Brady left the union. I guess they will just have to build their condos and marina services for their wealthy clientele. I predict that one of these condos will go for $10 million. In Portland we've seen records broken at one million, two, three, four, and nearly five. In 3-4 years, $10 million is not unrealistic.
I couldn't agree more with this post. Go find the most recent planning board meeting and listen to the tone the developers used throughout the whole meeting.
TC_zoid
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They own this land now. That's not changing. I'd like to see the bar open again. It brings one, anyone, up close to the marina to enjoy the views of the boats and harbor. Otherwise, de facto the public is punished without the experience. They might be duplicitous and arrogant, many developers are, but the city has no choice but to work with them. I love this area. I'm still going to charter that schooner in the marina with my friends and drink champagne (and hold up, with a nod, my much cheaper glass of bubbly to the people on the mega yacht as we sail past). But I would rather buy an Allagash or Baby Genius for $10 at this marina bar. It doesn't sting the wallet as much.
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