Portland, ME - New Construction Continued

PORTLAND: 'Inclusionary' zoning topic of City Council workshop
The City Council will hold a workshop at 5 p.m. Monday in the council chamber on a zoning proposal that would provide incentives to developers who include affordable housing in their projects.
The so-called "inclusionary" zoning proposal would offer discounts in development fees of 5 percent to 25 percent, corresponding with the percentage of affordable units in a project. It also would allow more units, fewer parking spaces and taller buildings.
The Planning Board will hold a public hearing and consider recommending the proposal Tuesday evening, followed by a council hearing and vote on Nov. 20.

PORTLAND: Starter funds for skate park part of proposed budget
Portland officials may borrow $75,000 to start developing a skate park to replace the one that's expected to be removed from Marginal Way to make way for projects.
City Manager Joseph Gray Jr. said the money is included in the proposed capital improvement budget for the coming year, which the City Council will consider Nov. 20.
City officials and skateboarding enthusiasts are working together to find a new location. A new park could cost as much as $250,000, officials said.


PORTLAND: Bayside developer honored with achievement award
Developer Theodore West of Cape Elizabeth will receive the city's 2006 Economic Development Achievement Award at the Downtown Portland Corporation's annual awards ceremony at 5:15 p.m. Thursday.
In addition, Barber Foods will be named 2006 Business of the Year and 555 Restaurant will be named 2006 Small Business of the Year, according to Jack Lufkin, Portland's economic development director.
The ceremony and annual business meeting will be held on the first floor of the office building under construction at 63 Marginal Way. It's one of several buildings West has built or is developing in Bayside, an area the city targeted for redevelopment several years ago.
The Downtown Portland Corporation is an arm of Portland's economic development division.

WESTBROOK: Revised project considered for city's Saccarappa Park
A committee charged with recommending a development project for Saccarappa Park is considering a new version of an earlier proposal.
City officials presented the committee Thursday with the possibility of a four-story building by Flannery Properties of Westbrook. The project would have retail space on the first floor, office space on the second and third floors and apartments or condominiums on the fourth floor, said Erik Carson, the city's director of economic and community development.
In June, the committee had chosen another project that consisted of two seven-story buildings that combined retail, commercial and residential space. But city officials said the developer, Cape Builders and Remodeling, was unable to secure financing.
 
USM groundbreaking was held today at 10:30.....about 100 people showed up. [/list]
 
PORTLAND: University breaks ground for $25 million project
The University of Southern Maine broke ground Wednesday on a $25 million redevelopment project on the Portland campus.
USM is in the early stages of creating University Commons, a complex made up of both newand existing buildings, such as the Albert Brenner Glickman Family Library.
Plans call for a newGlickman Li-brary entrance and a new home for the Muskie School of Public Service and the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education. The complex will also house the national headquarters of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, which offers classes to people over 55.
The new buildings will sit between the Glickman Library and the Abromson Community Education Center, where a formerPortland Plastic Pipe warehouse now stands. The project is being funded by a capital campaign.
Mayor James Cohen and USM President Richard Pattenaude spoke at the event, as didUniversity of Maine System trustees and representatives of the university's capital campaign.
 
Council anticipates Monday ?marathon?
By Kate Bucklin (published: November 16, 2006)
PORTLAND ? The City Council will start its Nov. 20 meeting early and probably end very late, taking on several issues including formula business restrictions, redevelopment of the Village Cafe property and the annual capital improvements budget.

?It is likely to be a marathon event,? Mayor James Cohen said.

The packed agenda and likelihood of a packed council chambers Monday resulted in the meeting being scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start instead of the traditional 7 p.m. The meeting will break for dinner at 6 p.m. and reconvene at 7 p.m.

The Village at Ocean Gate developers will be back before the council, trying to get approval for a contract zone that will allow them to build 176 condominiums in the East End, on the site of the Village Cafe and another parcel on Newbury Street.

GFI Residential of Boston was told at a workshop two weeks ago to bring back a plan that took into consideration the concerns of neighbors ? including developers of an abutting project. The workshop followed a council meeting two weeks earlier, when the contract zone request was tabled.

Cohen said he expects GFI will present three options to the council Monday. The proposal submitted to the council in October included four buildings, 176 condominium units, 190 parking spots and 7,000 square feet of retail space.

At the workshop Oct. 30, GFI proposed making the two buildings planned for the parcel opposite the Village Cafe into one, and reducing the height of that building by one story.

GFI?s anticipated third option, suggested by developer of a townhouse project on Federal Street, would remove a section of the building closest to their 44 Federal St. Townhouses while maintaining the five-story height. The modification would allow residents of the seven Federal Street to have better views from their decks.

The annual CIP budget includes almost $10 million for improvements to parks, sidewalks, city buildings and streets. Highlights of this year?s proposal are renovations to the Expo, Horse Barn and Fitzpatrick Stadium bleachers; repairs for the Fish Pier; $1.1 million for turf at Deering High School; and $75,000 for a new skateboard park.

A zoning amendment for the B-1 and B1-b zones will also be considered Monday. The amendment, aimed at small pockets of businesses in mostly residential neighborhoods, would prohibit businesses that generate more than 65 vehicle trips during peak hours.

The proposal is a result of neighborhood concern in Deering Center, where there are plans to build a Dunkin? Donuts. The coffee chain has submitted a request to the city and is expected before the Zoning Board of Appeals on Dec. 7.

The Formula Business Ordinance is also scheduled for discussion Monday.

The stalled Peninsula Traffic Study is on the agenda for Monday, too, although Cohen said it may be tabled. The plan was released nearly three years ago, and went before the Planning Board and the City Council early this year. But it was never voted on and seemed to have slipped out of priority status. A workshop on the plan was held Oct. 30.

The study suggests major traffic flow changes for the peninsula, including putting part of Franklin Arterial underground, closing direct access to East Marginal Way and closing State Street to through traffic by rerouting that traffic to Forest Avenue. High Street would also be realigned and State and High would become two-way streets.

A proposal to give fee breaks to developers of affordable housing is also on the agenda for Monday. The Inclusionary Zoning ordinance was first developed by a group of community members, including Justin Alfond and Councilor-elect Kevin Donoghue. It aims to give fee discounts to developers willing to include a certain percentage of affordable housing in new multi-unit construction. The ordinance also suggests those developers would get ?priority review? from city staff.

Kate Bucklin can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 106 or kbucklin@theforecaster.net.
 
Patrick, you gotta dodge those cars my friend.

mms://ss1.sbgnet.com/stations/wgme/WGME_newsg_300k.wmv
 
They really hyped that video at the beginning. I thought something exciting was going to happen!
 
That is kinda sad, im sorry. That guy can be seen all around town and he has a long story trailing behind him. He was hit by a truck years ago and never has recovered, instead turning to alcohol to deal with the pain and suffering. The truck 'scrambled his eggs' beyond recovery. alcohol is his 'secondary' problem, not the primary reason he is fucked up. This guy I worked construction with over the summer calls him "the king of portland" because he believes the truck accident may have screwed him up so badly that he doesn't know anything is wrong, and in fact he might think he is on top of the world or, as the name would suggest, the king of portland.
 
There are two guys in town that walk like that. I'm not sure which one it was. There is high steppin eddie who asks for money on Congress st, then there is the blondish guy usually near Preble street.
 
its the first one.

and on construction related news, there are three development sites up that I have just recently noticed.

1. Across the street from the new maine medical parking garage is a dirt lot where that building was raised (the one that burned down, restaurant i think?). it has a sign that says 70,000 square feet of office is coming. would be a nice spot, but cant seem to find any news on it.

2. on outer congress street, before you hit the stroudwater area, where there currently sits a one-room old and abandoned gas station, there is a sign up for a two-three story building, which would be a major improvement. doesnt look like much, but its tens of thousands of square feet where there is currently nothing at all.

3. driving into south portland via the road that target plaza is off of (coming from buxton direction) there is a big sign up that says 16.5 acre development site. new retail plaza perhaps? its just up the road from target plaza.

also, the anthem building in scarborough by the mall has added exterior lights for night, all sorts of bright colors, sorta like the hilton downtown, looks sweet at night.

and, lastly, the new mcdonalds building in westbrook has a freakin light show on its roof on the weekend, it looks like the F'n jetport or a UFO or something. i can see it from my house in deering center. ridiculous.
 
The one across from Maine Med is basically saying what you could build there. Nothing planned yet. The sign at the old gas station has been up there for like 2 years.

I'm really not liking the brick on Oceangate. There was no need to use brick on that at all. Should have been glass and metal. At least it will be all glass and metal to the people coming into the harbor.

You going to the mega marathon council meeting tomorrow night? The Village goes back for a final vote. Should be an easy okay since the Federal street guys helped GFI this time. Also the whole chain thing is tomorrow night. It will be a huge blow if the ban passes. There is a lot of opposition against it now.
 
I think chain restaurants downtown should be capped. But, I only think this so long as there are local establishments (or at least not chains, that are willing to take their place. We should keep our city non-generic. I hate when i travel and i have to eat at a subway instead of some locally famous sandwich shop. but at the same time, if it is chain or nothing at all, then obviously we need the chain for our own econ health. but assuming there are other restaurants that could easily go where a chain wants to open up, we should go with them first.

I never noticed that sign by the gas station before.

are you sure there is nothing planned for that lot on congress by maine med? because the sign i think specifies that it is 70,000 sf of "medical" office space.
 
PORTLAND: City Council OKs incentives for affordable housing
The City Council unanimously approved a new zoning measure Monday that will provide incentives to developers who include affordable housing in their projects.
The so-called "inclusionary" zoning offers discounts in development fees of 5 percent to 25 percent, corresponding with the percentage of affordable units in a project. It also allows more units, fewer parking spaces and taller buildings.
 
Morrill?s Crossing plan takes hit from committee; Critics say peninsula traffic study promotes driving
By Peter Smith (published: December 07, 2006)
PORTLAND ? Eleven parking spaces on inbound Forest Avenue should remain in front of Samuel?s Bar & Grill, the Transportation Committee said Thursday, adding another possible bump in the road for developers of Morrill?s Crossing.

The committee also heard from critics who said the revised Peninsula Traffic Study, including the proposed roadway expansion of Franklin Arterial, inadequately addressed what the committee referred to as alternative transportation ? pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

The parking spaces on Forest Avenue would have been eliminated as part of plans to create two inbound traffic lanes, a bicycle lane and an outbound right-turn lane onto Allen Avenue. The proposed changes would accommodate development of Morrill?s Crossing, a project that has faced opposition and legal challenges.

Mike Bobinsky of the Public Works Department said unspecified ?ongoing negotiations? might alleviate concerns about the parking for small businesses along Forest Avenue, but his department wanted any vote on the amended traffic schedule tabled.

?I don?t want to do that,? City Councilor Cheryl Leeman, chairwoman of the committee, said. ?Who knows what the new Transportation Committee is going to do. They might negotiate something we?re not happy with.?

Leeman and Councilor Donna Carr will likely continue to serve on the committee, although Will Gorham will be replaced by Councilor Kevin Donoghue before the committee reconvenes on Jan. 25, 2007.

Last week, the current committee unanimously voted against eliminating the parking.

?We do not want to negatively impact those businesses,? Leeman said.

?We may have a legal quandary here,? Bobinsky said.

Leeman said the committee would not support the amended traffic schedule. ?If that created legal problems,? she said, ?that?s what we have lawyers for.?

The proposed changes on Forest Avenue tried to satisfy too many special interests, Leeman said. ?There are some places where it is inappropriate to have bicycle lanes,? she added.

In a second proposed amendment, the committee voted to limit Read Street to westbound-only traffic. The change would eliminate a dangerous intersection with Adelaide Street and Forest Avenue.

City Planner Bill Needelman also presented the Transportation Committee with a revised Peninsula Traffic Study, which followed a series of six public hearings and came before the committee for a final review before heading to the City Council. He said the plan had become ?more of a transportation study than a traffic study.?

While the revised plan outlined points for discouraging more ?roadway infrastructure? and fostering ?pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and other modes of transportation,? Markos Miller, president of the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Association, saw the revised plan as one for automobile traffic.

?It?s highway planning right now,? he said.

Miller worried that the existing highway not only divided the East End from the rest of the city, but that residents of Munjoy South and Kennedy Park would face increasing risks crossing a widened highway.

Leeman told Miller the plan included non-vehicular traffic.?I think you?ll find this clearly says, ?Hey, the goal is not make this an expanded highway,?? she said. ?We don?t want to create a highway through a neighborhood.?

?My concern,? Miller said after the meeting, ?is that they will do an alternative plan too late. Once we widen these roads, that?s it.? He compared the plan to home construction: ?If you?re getting ready to build a house, you have to know the dimensions. This is like pouring a foundation before we have any idea what this house is going to look like.?

A revised plan has been under consideration for about six years, Needelman said. Leeman wanted to know why those with concerns about alternative transportation had not made it to the committee before. ?I have not heard from them in the last year,? she said.

?The reason you haven?t heard from them,? said Stephen Scharf, a Portland resident, ?is because every time this came up you said that it was part of the alternative mode study.?

Scharf also chided the committee for referring to walking and biking as alternative transportation. ?We need to get Portlanders out of their car,? he said, ?before they get in them.?

Leeman asked Miller for specifics. When he suggested a parking lot off Marginal Way with free Metro buses around the city, she said, ?Are you suggesting more pavement on Marginal Way??

?That wasn?t on the agenda,? Miller said later. ?To put me on the spot is avoiding the issue and the issue was discussing the traffic plans, its merits and shortcomings.?

His concerns may be part of public opposition that could eventually stymie approval, but Leeman said later she was worried that proposed automobile traffic changes in the Deering Oaks neighborhood would mobilize residents.

Peter Smith can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 126 or psmith@theforecaster.net.
 
sounds a lot like portland...

Portsmouth trying to stop spread of chain businesses downtown

MICHAEL GOOT

PORTSMOUTH ? The Planning Board is looking to prevent the spread of chain businesses in the downtown by possibly regulating their architecture.

The board on Thursday discussed the idea of regulating "formula-based businesses," which they defined as an establishment that has at least five other locations that are substantially similar.

Master plan consultant Rick Taintor said other communities such as Ogunquit, York and Portland in Maine and Bristol, R.I. have successfully regulated these businesses. This ordinance would ban internally illuminated signs, prominently displayed corporate logos or color schemes and drive-throughs. It would require these businesses to obtain a special exception from the Board of Adjustment if they want to locate downtown.

Planning Board Chairman Jerry Hejtmanek said it would require a Dunkin' Donuts or McDonald's, for example, to look more historic. This ordinance would try to combat sameness so the downtown just does not begin to look like anywhere.

Board member Donald Coker said he thought it was an example of government overreach. "I do not see the problem," he said.

Deputy City Manager Cindy Hayden, who is also on the board, said it is trying to head off a problem.

The board also wanted to schedule a public meeting on this issue.

In other business, the board decided to get public input at its Dec. 21 on a proposal to create an overlay district that would permit both office research and industrial uses.

Smuttynose Brewery had sought to create such a district. Bernie Pelech, attorney for brewery owner Peter Egelston, said the brewery is looking to move from its space on Constitution Avenue into a bigger facility. However, a parcel of land it is eyeing off West Road would not be suitable because it is zoned office research.

Taintor said there are a few areas in the city where this type of zoning may be appropriate as a transition between two different uses. The ordinance as drafted would promote a type of "campus" layout for an industrial park. It would require a minimum of a 10-acre site and a landscaping buffer between this zone and a residential district.

The new zoning would allow for a mix of uses for either office research or industrial and allow for some type of development for example, a bakery manufacturer that also sells goods on site.

Also on Thursday, the board decided it needed some research by the Planning Department on another proposal that would ban outdoor recreational uses in all business and industrial districts. These would include things like driving ranges and amusement parks. It had some issue about whether musical entertainment outdoors would fall under this regulation.
 
Smuttynose said:
sounds a lot like portland...

Portsmouth trying to stop spread of chain businesses downtown

MICHAEL GOOT

PORTSMOUTH ? The Planning Board is looking to prevent the spread of chain businesses in the downtown by possibly regulating their architecture.

The board on Thursday discussed the idea of regulating "formula-based businesses," which they defined as an establishment that has at least five other locations that are substantially similar.

Master plan consultant Rick Taintor said other communities such as Ogunquit, York and Portland in Maine and Bristol, R.I. have successfully regulated these businesses. This ordinance would ban internally illuminated signs, prominently displayed corporate logos or color schemes and drive-throughs. It would require these businesses to obtain a special exception from the Board of Adjustment if they want to locate downtown.

Planning Board Chairman Jerry Hejtmanek said it would require a Dunkin' Donuts or McDonald's, for example, to look more historic. This ordinance would try to combat sameness so the downtown just does not begin to look like anywhere.

Board member Donald Coker said he thought it was an example of government overreach. "I do not see the problem," he said.

Deputy City Manager Cindy Hayden, who is also on the board, said it is trying to head off a problem.

The board also wanted to schedule a public meeting on this issue.

In other business, the board decided to get public input at its Dec. 21 on a proposal to create an overlay district that would permit both office research and industrial uses.

Smuttynose Brewery had sought to create such a district. Bernie Pelech, attorney for brewery owner Peter Egelston, said the brewery is looking to move from its space on Constitution Avenue into a bigger facility. However, a parcel of land it is eyeing off West Road would not be suitable because it is zoned office research.

Taintor said there are a few areas in the city where this type of zoning may be appropriate as a transition between two different uses. The ordinance as drafted would promote a type of "campus" layout for an industrial park. It would require a minimum of a 10-acre site and a landscaping buffer between this zone and a residential district.

The new zoning would allow for a mix of uses for either office research or industrial and allow for some type of development for example, a bakery manufacturer that also sells goods on site.

Also on Thursday, the board decided it needed some research by the Planning Department on another proposal that would ban outdoor recreational uses in all business and industrial districts. These would include things like driving ranges and amusement parks. It had some issue about whether musical entertainment outdoors would fall under this regulation.
Click to expand...

Ok so Portsmouth has gone off the deep end a bit.

at least five locations that are similar? That makes portland sound rational; we look for thirty store chains. not five. How can a five store shain be a chain? Who would recognize it as such except for people from the other four towns in which it existed? so lame.

But I do agree with the way in which they are trying to regulate them: architecture.

I love portsmouth...it really should not become full of dunkin donuts or other chains, because then I would never visit it. it is too small to have chains.
 
PORTLAND: Traffic plan covering next 25 years to be scrutinized
The City Council will hold a workshop at 5 p.m. Monday in the council chamber on a peninsula traffic plan that's being considered for inclusion in the city's comprehensive plan.
In the works for several years, the traffic plan outlines $53.8 million in recommended roadwork for the next 25 years.
The plan includes a reconfiguration of State and High streets and construction of tunnels on Franklin Arterial beneath the intersections of Congress Street and Cumberland Avenue.
 
That traffic plan meeting should be really interesting. If I were in town I would surely be there!
 
Corey said:
That traffic plan meeting should be really interesting. If I were in town I would surely be there!
Click to expand...

yeah but the franklin tunnel wont be in for 25 years, longer than I have thus far been alive, and I hardly expect to be interested in the same things then that I am now...it would be like me still liking tonka toys or something. Also, things planned 25 years in advance never happen. If the city made plans for soemthing in 1981, do you guys think it would begin construction this year? No way. I dont think this is even worth discussing.


btw corey r u coming home for break? snap some pics, man!
 
Public-private building could be added to courthouse
By Linda Maule (published: December 14, 2006)
PORTLAND ? Construction of a multi-story building that would be jointly owned by Cumberland County and a private developer is being considered for land now used for parking at the County Courthouse.

The County Commission set the idea into motion Monday when it approved hiring attorney Charles Miller for advice on sending out requests for proposals (RFPs) to developers who might be interested in the concept. Miller is the managing shareholder of Bernstein Shur in Portland.

The county would initially use one floor, probably 10,000 square feet, and a developer, who would construct the building, would lease out the other floors, Cumberland County Manager Peter Crichton said. The county would have priority for the building?s leased space, and the building could eventually revert back to the county, he said.

The building would be ideal for law offices, Crichton said. He also said the county is in need of more space, especially for the district attorney?s office.

The DA?s office, Crichton said, ?is really spread out in (the courthouse). It?s not conducive to doing the work we do,? especially ?when there are privacy matters.?

The county-owned land at Federal Street and the Franklin Arterial ?is valuable and in a prime location. It would be very attractive to a developer. In return we are going to try to secure space for the special needs we have,? Crichton said.

One of the main reasons to use a private developer would be to alleviate the cost to taxpayers, he said.

?We think this is a win-win for the developer, the city, county, for everyone involved,? Crichton said. ?It?s a project that needs to happen if we are going to meet the space needs. It?s a way to do it with the cost not borne by the taxpayers. It will enhance the value of the land ... and strike a good arrangement for the county to be able to be in the building. ... This is a really unique public-private partnership.?

The county wants to develop the RFP over the next two to three months. The commissioners approved up to $23,000 for Miller?s services.

In 2001, when a new building was recommended, it was expected to cost $12 million.

Crichton said the county has tried to meet its space needs by using every available area in the courthouse, including converting a closet to an office and putting an office under a staircase.
 
As far as the 25 year thing, the big dig in Boston was conceived in the 1970's. Official planning began in '82. In '87 a public works bill for federal funding was vetoed by Reagan because it was too expensive and then congress overrode the veto. Actual construction didn't begin until 1991. Patience can be good! (if you consider the big dig a success, which I think I do)

I am coming home on the 21st of December, and many pictures should ensue.

:D
 
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