Portland Foreside | 58 Fore Street | Portland

On a weekday, go to Twelve a half hour before it opens and wait in line to sit at the bar (table reservations are booked weeks in advance). Order anything and you will leave thinking you just had the dining experience of a lifetime. (I've been to the best restaurants all over the country.) The sous chef at Twelve used to be the sous chef at Eleven Madison Park in Manhattan, and that restaurant a few years ago when he was there was voted the best in the world by a top accolade source. Do it. You only live once.
 
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Some photos of the gap between the street and the surviving older buildings; hopefully they're working on restoring them. The cliff face at left is the original shoreline.

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Does anyone know the extent to which this development has plans to prevent flooding? I haven't listened to all the meetings, but I don't recall hearing much/any discussion about it. As it stands in 2024, storm surge - particular with the astronomical high tide - easily makes it to the path, even with the fancy dock system. The first floor in the renderings and plans looks to be at the same grade as the current parking lot, so I can't imagine that'll go well in the future.

Compare all of this to Roux where there has been much discussion and thought to flooding.
 
If you look at Portland's FEMA flood maps, the eastern prom trail along the eastern waterfront is generally 12-13 feet in elevation, which is better off than the old B&M building, whose south end is at about 10' elevation and has been getting pretty wet this winter.
https://portlandme.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=975da31f7aff455d8da5ae0776efac55
https://portlandme.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=975da31f7aff455d8da5ae0776efac55
(zoom way in to see elevation contours)

But your point is absolutely right – 12 feet was considered 'safe' just a couple of years ago, and now it's not. Boston is planning to raise its flooding waterfront roadways to 16 feet. The target is likely to keep moving higher, faster than anyone expected.

That said, developers are getting good at raising ground levels in waterfront developments, so it's not a dealbreaker, and I expect that the suckers who sell the insurance for this project will insist on it.
 
Just noticed Turner is opening an office on York St - I don't believe they've had a Portland office before, right? Either a good sign for 58 Fore or that sentiment on larger projects in Portland is still strong.
 
nomc said:
Just noticed Turner is opening an office on York St - I don't believe they've had a Portland office before, right? Either a good sign for 58 Fore or that sentiment on larger projects in Portland is still strong.
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Jim Brady and his hotel/condo project across from the Press Hotel has been MIA.
I don't think that high priced condo density to live at is as much of an interest now from out of state buyers. I've been looking around Sebago Lake and the East Grand Ave. area of OOB and the prices for land or tear downs for single family home builds has skyrocketed. I have a friend who bought a wonderful new home in an upscale development in Cumberland last year, and it has gone up in value by 25%. I see this as a much better investment or place to live than a condo within a grouping.
 
TC_zoid said:
Jim Brady and his hotel/condo project across from the Press Hotel has been MIA.
I don't think that high priced condo density to live at is as much of an interest now from out of state buyers. I've been looking around Sebago Lake and the East Grand Ave. area of OOB and the prices for land or tear downs for single family home builds has skyrocketed. I have a friend who bought a wonderful new home in an upscale development in Cumberland last year, and it has gone up in value by 25%. I see this as a much better investment or place to live than a condo within a grouping.
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There is a long-standing tradition in Portland that any proposal for the Congress/(Pearl)/Franklin/Cumberland/Myrtle blocks just misses the market. Just like the old tradition here, before the Maine forum was created, that any Portland project that got its own thread never got built.
 
Is this project at a stand still indefinitely? It’s becoming sad walking by this eastern part of the Old Port towards the Eastern Prom and seeing the vacant land after seeing all the amazing renderings of what could be. A project like this needs to happen to feel like Portlands waterfront is complete with many eras of architecture along the waterfront. You have Hobsons landing, the old port, and then this new property.
So many stand still projects in Portland right now… what’s going on?
 
Upcoming election, interest rates and construction costs. Developers and banks are using a wait and see approach to the overall economy before they invest millions in a project. Props to Redfern for getting The Casco tower built during this period. (y)
 
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I would guess that construction costs have become prohibitive, for starters. Their latest proposal would probably cost half a billion dollars to fully build out, maybe more. This site is also surrounded by wealthy property owners who will be happy to litigate any proposals that might affect their views/property values, and that could delay any construction significantly.
 
It doesn't appear like much was going on in the construction vein at Portland Foreside yesterday. But there was a yacht docked in the marina that is designed for services for other yachts. That's how you know Portland is a notable marina now. Six yachts are docked today, and not all have a helipad. So this one (the large gray James Bond movie looking one to the right) has a helipad for going back and forth in style for the unfortunate who don't have a helipad on their yacht. In addition, jet skis that launch out of a door in the hull, a la James Bond style, and I think at the top, a crane that lowers a small submersible with windows for viewing under the water. I thought the homeless guy "resting"on the big piece of granite was a fitting metaphor for this project, "Your view, your home."

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nomc said:
What makes it a notable marina? It's a mess and doesn't seem like it's going to be changing any time soon.
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It's in Portland, right by the Old Port (and literally next to Twelve) and specifically pursues the high end. I don't think DiMillo's can handle the really large yachts and the other ones are far away.
 
There's now substantial fabric-covered fencing around the parking lot across from the marina and a Turner sign hung by the automatic barrier gate. I found that in July of this year McClure announced that they are going to be the civil engineers on the project. CSS looks quiet to me, Major Site Plan Development for Blocks 4, 5, 6 looks stalled, no permit started - can anyone find any other info about what's going on?
 
At their marina, I've noticed (www.marinetraffic.com) significantly less yacht visits this summer than the previous two or three. Perhaps the fees for mooring, etc. were higher this year. However, it was more cruise ship visits next door, or total passengers and crew this summer and fall (and in 2025 the schedule indicates even bigger). Maybe this is a turn off for the rich, regular folks spying from the decks above? I do think this project will start soon and get built. Housing is hot in Southern Maine, especially at the upper end with design/Green/tech homes. And I do think it's possible to find a noteworthy commercial tenant. I'd toss some feelers out to California, of which is now hemorrhaging businesses and residents--many to Texas. I was in Austin for a couple of days this week on business and I like to talk to folks at its hotels, bars, and restaurants. They tell me who's new in town--a bartender from Monterey, though if you've ever done the coastal Big Sur drive (bucket list) to end up in this beautiful place, I couldn't imagine why. But then he wasn't rich, so maybe that's part of it.

https://www.portlandforeside.com/

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