Portland, ME - New Construction Continued

This is getting ridiculous........I can't believe that people are concerned about 14 story buildings! I'd be more concerned about overall design if I lived in that area. These people are crackpots.......maybe they should move to a rural area where there won't be anything over 2 stories for the rest of their lives? And where were these people when they put up that hideous row of green buildings along 295????:rolleyes:
 
Portland Council will vote on the requested zone changes necessary to make Midtown work tomorrow evening.
 
Patrick, you could a gut instinct of how this is going to go? Do you think the planning board recommendation makes it easier for the council to vote yes? Council shouldn't even have a vote on this. Buildings should be through a planning board, that's what they do.
 
grittys457 said:
Patrick, you could a gut instinct of how this is going to go? Do you think the planning board recommendation makes it easier for the council to vote yes? Council shouldn't even have a vote on this. Buildings should be through a planning board, that's what they do.
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Gut feeling: After vigorous public debate, this will be approved with two dissenting votes.

The reason the council is involved is this: the request is not for approval of the project, but for amendment of the height limits in the zoning which will allow the project.

Zoning is a law, i.e., a legislative enactment. The Council makes the laws. The laws must, however, be informed by the Plan, which is also legislatively adopted after public creation but which, as you correctly note, is outside the expertise of the council. Actually, it's outside the expertise of the Planning Board most times, too, but they do work more closely with it as a document. So the recommendation comes from the Planning Board, which should simply indicate whether the zoning changes are consistent with the plan, as required by law. That's an amazingly easy legal standard to satisfy.

See my message to you for more.
 
SHAZBAT73 said:
Dr. Strangehat - I agree with you on most of your points in your last post, except for the gun turrets (funny though)!

Allagash - Read the article, and a lot of points make sense. I don't agree with the Appalachian Trail argument though. It crosses over and under superhighways all up and down the East coast.

I-95 is easier to travel now than it was. When it was 4 lanes it was just too congested. Getting on and getting around the 18 wheelers were a pain in the backside.
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Your are definitely right. I remember the 2 lanes and there was very little wiggle room and if people were driving like idiots then it could get real bad. 95 could use 3 lanes until about brunswick.
 
Great news and it's comforting to see that the "vocal minority" did not get their way. Not sure where the Press Herald is coming up with 204 feet for the height of Franklin Towers. Was told by reliable sources that the building is 172 feet to the roofline with an additional 15 feet for the center mechanical/elevator space which would make for a grand total of 187 feet.

Now let's hope that the City Council will support the Westin's new proposal for an event center in Congress Square! The homeless/vagrants can utilize Deering Oaks or the grassy park located on Deering Street just a block off Congress Street. I hope the photos of a few individuals picking up a little trash in the square does not influence the vote and I bet that very few of the 1000 signatures collected have actually spend anytime in the park.
 
Great news about the Midtown Project moving forward. What's funny is I agree with the points by the vocal opposition concerning the car-centric and anti-street life aspects of the project, but I have no opposition to the higher building heights. Building height, density, and vibrant sidewalks are not mutually exclusive and I think the proposals do a decent job of balancing these priorities while also being economically viable.

Portlander said:
Now let's hope that the City Council will support the Westin's new proposal for an event center in Congress Square! The homeless/vagrants can utilize Deering Oaks or the grassy park located on Deering Street just a block off Congress Street. I hope the photos of a few individuals picking up a little trash in the square does not influence the vote and I bet that very few of the 1000 signatures collected have actually spend anytime in the park.
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Due to living in the building that owns that grassy lot on Deering Street, I would be opposed to encouraging the homeless congregating there (I'd actually be happy to see an actual park built there or a building). Looking forward to seeing the plans for the new Westin proposal down the street.
 
Does anybody know if The Westin is proposing to help turn other nearby areas into parks or stick a few benches or something? I don't care but whatever it takes to sway the arguement. If they could take up a little less space for the ballroom and then build a nice area with benches and stuff facing congress street, I think that would look really good. Better than the sunken treasure there now.

Poor poster on the pressherald midtown article is getting taken out back and whipped right now. That's what he gets for stupid comments
 
Corey, if Congress Square was originally conceived as a park and was never zoned or utilized commercially I might be a little more compassionate. That parcel of land was developed in a variety of different uses for almost a century until it was turned into an urban park in the early 80's. If it were not for Paul's Food Store, Portland's downtrodden would not congregate there at all in my opinion. If the homeless can walk from Portland Street to Congress Square, they can surely navigate the shorter distance to Deering Oaks for their recreational needs. You don't want them hanging out in the park across from where you live and I don't want to see them on Congress Street.

grittys, your thoughts on the revised plans for Congress Square are similar to what I have heard from an individual associated with the project. Rockbridge Capital is trying to reach a compromise that would massage both sides by having the Event Center's footprint reduced by approximately 20 percent and the possibility of a fountain. In addition, outside urinals and benches that resemble cots will line the wall area to the east side of the parcel. JK about the last idea!
 
Has anyone seen an artist rendering of the initial Midtown Tower in full without the upper floors chopped off? The drawing shown in the Press Herald today looks great but I would love to see the detail of how the roof/mechanical portion of the structure will look.
 
This guy on the press herald is getting done with no lube right now. Nice guy but completely living in a fantasy land. Lol at a garden generating lots of taxes

Fountain would be great there. Nice semicircle with benches facing forward. Done right, 1/3 of that land could be used ten times more than now
 
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