Cosakita18
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Construction of blocks 4,5 and 6 will involve three tower cranes across all three phases
Portland Foreside | 58 Fore Street | Portland
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TC_zoid
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Nicely posted. Thanks. This has become quite a luxury housing monster. My main concern is that the units available for rent or purchase are not primarily from out-of-state clients. But perhaps that's impossible to control. Portland is becoming a hot destination for the rich. There are numerous metrics one can pull for verification and other signs of this. Yesterday, I noticed that there was a luxury cruise ship in dock not far from four yachts, one of which is the biggest in the world (Rising Sun). And in 2024, there will be considerably more luxury cruise ships coming to port. I think Portland 2033 is going to look vastly different than Portland 2023. It certainly has from 2013. Count the notable buildings that have gone up since then. And the season is getting longer. Next year it's from April to November for cruise ships.
Portlander
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Like the design or not, this will be a massive undertaking if built out as planned and will make the Portland waterfront even more diverse and entertaining than it already is. Does anyone think that this project's scope and size may have an impact on the Herald Square development getting off the ground and being completed as planned or is there more than enough distance between the two?
Cosakita18
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This is a huge influx of upper-end rental and condo units. Despite Portland's desirability and our overall housing shortage there is an upper limit to how many high-end units Portland's housing market can absorb in a 2-3 year timeframe.
TC_zoid
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Yes, but haven't we been saying that for the last 8 years? What was a new condo in 2015? 600K? Now it can be up to $4 million, or more. There is a notable migration of rich arriving to buy a place here from the south--from all the way to D.C., even California. Go walk around the back road of Peaks Island. Where did all those new high-tech homes come from? I was stunned. But I think an even bigger draw will be the southern and western lakefront of Sebago Lake. I've been looking for something there and NOTHING is reasonable. You want a tear down lake house with no insulation? Then fork over $2 million! (It is one of the cleanest lakes in the country--you can drink from it.) The drive to Portland is short, and a mere 2 hours to Boston. Also, Portland is not far off from being a suburb of Boston (train commuting), which is becoming the greatest tech and education center in the world. They are coming and it's not going to stop. (And if NYC has its migrant apocalypse like Mayor Eric Adams said it's going to have, then well... $$$$$$$.)
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From the listings I can see online, 218 Washington, 75 Chestnut, and Hobson's are having trouble getting rid of some units - these are not just the ultra high end, but the 500k range too.
As for 58 Fore, I still think they need to be careful about planning what retail ends up going in - people come to Portland to go to the Old Port, that's what they know. If you expect they'll also walk to 58 Fore - or repark - it will need to be a destination not just an outpost with some random shops.
As for 58 Fore, I still think they need to be careful about planning what retail ends up going in - people come to Portland to go to the Old Port, that's what they know. If you expect they'll also walk to 58 Fore - or repark - it will need to be a destination not just an outpost with some random shops.
Cosakita18
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Part of that is the result of national trends. With interest rates as they are it's just not a great time to buy, But Portland could easily end up with an oversupply of condo / ownership units and an even more critical shortage of rental units.
A quick look shows Hobson's Landing Phase 2 with of 12 of 64 units still available.
218 Washington Ave has 18 of 45 units still available.
The Daymark has 13 of 52 units still available.
Those numbers aren't dismal, but If I was Reger Dasco, I would be thinking about converting the residential phases of 385 Congress to be a mix of condo and rental or even majority rental.
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I don’t have a problem with height restrictions in this particular area…I think that it’s important to protect the top of Munjoy Hill…and sightlines going both ways. I get the whole NIMBY thing, but in this case I’m siding with them. Some iconic areas and features of the penninsula are worth protecting.
Go to Apartments.com and you'll see that a number of those addresses have rental listings – it's not uncommon for projects to lease out unsold condo units on short-term leases while they wait for buyers (or for buyers to rent out their condos as apartments to other people). Just because they're unsold doesn't mean they're not occupied and generating revenue for the developers.
TC_zoid
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With the Foreside project, I expect anything with a good view to sell high. Many or most buyers of high-priced units are primarily out-of-state residents. Why would they buy something in Maine without a view and without quality? They also want hi-tech, modern, and Green. Kaplan Thompson knows this. Go to their website to see what they've built for homes in the last few years. And as I indicated, the Sebago Lake area is hot. The only properties I could find on the water were for 1.2 million and 1.9 million, and another at 2.75 million on Frye Island, which is a stretch because there is no access in the winter. And hop on the ferry to Peaks and walk around the back part of the island. The wealthier set is invading. Once they get in, they might even be using the abandoned WWII bunkers to defend too (lol). The next big luxury project will probably be on the land near Bug Light Park. The developer who owns it teased an imminent build a few months back. It would face southwest to see the skyline and sunset. Water taxi's are already taking diners to Saltwater Grille and back, so not a big deal to not be on the peninsula. My prediction for maybe the next five years will be the first condo sale that hits $10 million. I'd say this land with something stunning in SoPo might do the trick.