Portland, ME - New Construction Continued

The Grand Victorian in Old orchard Beach - replaced a one level arcade
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Maine Med and Mercy hospitals as seen from I-295 (Mercy under construction)
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The Forecaster had a good article today on two new buildings downtown. The developer is Kerry Anderson who has done some other big projects. One project will be right out my building on the small strip of land that is closed in by Brian Boru, Rivalries, and Portland Pie on the corner of Fore st and Center. It calls for a 7 story building with retail, then office, and residential on the top four floors with balconies. Also talked about a tower type of thing on one part of the top of the building.

Other building would be on Oak street and be three stories with retail on the first and lofts on the other floors.

Forecaster also talked about Intermed gaining the extra floor as well as the final plans for the Miss Portland Diner. They have already taken down the skate ramp and are taking down the bus shelter to get ready for the project.

Patrick, I assume you'll have these articles posted tomorrow.
 
Will this new seven story be in the large parking lot that borders NEMIC or the one by the CCCC? If I recall, they border each other with fore running in between, right? Which one is bigger? I kind of hoped they built a new civic center or something there, or convention center at least. Also, when the lot is developed nearby, where is everyone in the 7-story building going to park then? I sense a parking garage in the future wasting all that prime space. man if I were a developer I would build something spectacular there, not waste it on a 7-story building and an adjacent garage. But right now, it is only a dirt parking lot....

Also, that other three story building, is that going across from the white heart on that side street that heads toward back bay tower from congress? that is a pretty small lot!
 
Developer plans 2 new buildings on downtown lots
By Kate Bucklin (published: March 29, 2007)
PORTLAND ? A Scarborough developer wants to build two mixed-use buildings downtown.

Kerry Anderson has submitted proposals to the city for a three-story retail and loft building on Oak Street and a seven-story retail, office and residential project on Fore Street at the Center Street intersection.

The 505 Fore St. project would occupy what is now a small parking lot surrounded by the Brian Boru and Rivalries pubs and by Portland Pie Co. The building, according to planning documents, would be about 82 feet tall and have retail space on the ground floor on both Fore and Center streets. The second and third floors are designated for offices and the top four floors are marked for 16 residences.

The residential units would be about 700 square feet each and include balconies.

Architect David Lloyd of Archetype has included a tower at the top corner of the building. The storefronts on the first floor would have painted wood and concrete exteriors, and the upper floors would be brick and concrete.

The developer plans to lease 49 parking spots from a nearby lot. The project does not need special zoning allowances to move forward, and the documents submitted said the project could be completed in nine months.

Barbara Barhydt, the development review services manager for the city Planning Division, said the Fore Street project is expected to go before the Planning Board for a workshop in April.

Anderson?s other proposal is also expected to be on an April workshop agenda. The Oak Street Live Work Lofts would be built on a parking lot at 72-80 Oak St. Anderson worked with developer Tom Moulton during the past few years to renovate the building across the street at Oak and Congress streets, where former artist studios are now condominiums and office space, with the White Heart bar at street level.

The new loft project includes first-floor retail space and 16 units of housing on the second and third floors. Some balconies are shown in the architectural renderings.

Barhydt said Anderson will need a zoning amendment to provide fewer parking spaces than the 61 now required.

Anderson, who did not return several telephone messages left at his office, has developed large-scale projects in Scarborough and recently won approval to build the mixed-use Bessey Square project on Route 1 across from Scarborough Town Hall.

Kate Bucklin can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 106 or kbucklin@theforecaster.net.



Plans submitted for Miss Portland Diner

PORTLAND ? Plans to reopen the Miss Portland Diner on a slice of Marginal Way land were submitted to the city this month by Thomas Manning.

The plans include building a 2,100-square-foot addition to the 557-square-foot dining car. The new addition would house a kitchen, the cashier station, restrooms, a memorabilia case and dining space. Because the project is considered a minor site plan, it may qualify for administrative review and not have to go before the Planning Board for approval, City Planner Richard Knowland said.

A large bus shelter is already being disassembled to make way for the diner, and the former skateboard park next door is gone. Parking for the diner would be available in the adjacent lot and on the street.

Manning, a Portland native whose family owned Eddie?s Shamrock Cafe on India Street, lives in New Jersey and works for Newsweek magazine.

Manning became interested in the diner after following news reports that the city was looking for a new owner for the 58-year-old dining car. He won approval from the City Council last August to purchase the diner and the parcel of land on Marginal Way.

The diner was given to the city in 2005 by Randall Chasse and has been in storage in Bayside since last year.
 
No, it's not even on either of the big lots. It's the very small piece of land closed in by Boru's and Portland Pie. Literally on the corner of Fore St. and Center St. Info on parking is in the article.

Developer plans 2 new buildings on downtown lots
By Kate Bucklin (published: March 29, 2007)
PORTLAND ? A Scarborough developer wants to build two mixed-use buildings downtown.

Kerry Anderson has submitted proposals to the city for a three-story retail and loft building on Oak Street and a seven-story retail, office and residential project on Fore Street at the Center Street intersection.

The 505 Fore St. project would occupy what is now a small parking lot surrounded by the Brian Boru and Rivalries pubs and by Portland Pie Co. The building, according to planning documents, would be about 82 feet tall and have retail space on the ground floor on both Fore and Center streets. The second and third floors are designated for offices and the top four floors are marked for 16 residences.

The residential units would be about 700 square feet each and include balconies.

Architect David Lloyd of Archetype has included a tower at the top corner of the building. The storefronts on the first floor would have painted wood and concrete exteriors, and the upper floors would be brick and concrete.

The developer plans to lease 49 parking spots from a nearby lot. The project does not need special zoning allowances to move forward, and the documents submitted said the project could be completed in nine months.

Barbara Barhydt, the development review services manager for the city Planning Division, said the Fore Street project is expected to go before the Planning Board for a workshop in April.

Anderson?s other proposal is also expected to be on an April workshop agenda. The Oak Street Live Work Lofts would be built on a parking lot at 72-80 Oak St. Anderson worked with developer Tom Moulton during the past few years to renovate the building across the street at Oak and Congress streets, where former artist studios are now condominiums and office space, with the White Heart bar at street level.

The new loft project includes first-floor retail space and 16 units of housing on the second and third floors. Some balconies are shown in the architectural renderings.

Barhydt said Anderson will need a zoning amendment to provide fewer parking spaces than the 61 now required.

Anderson, who did not return several telephone messages left at his office, has developed large-scale projects in Scarborough and recently won approval to build the mixed-use Bessey Square project on Route 1 across from Scarborough Town Hall.

Kate Bucklin can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 106 or kbucklin@theforecaster.net.



Plans submitted for Miss Portland Diner

PORTLAND ? Plans to reopen the Miss Portland Diner on a slice of Marginal Way land were submitted to the city this month by Thomas Manning.

The plans include building a 2,100-square-foot addition to the 557-square-foot dining car. The new addition would house a kitchen, the cashier station, restrooms, a memorabilia case and dining space. Because the project is considered a minor site plan, it may qualify for administrative review and not have to go before the Planning Board for approval, City Planner Richard Knowland said.

A large bus shelter is already being disassembled to make way for the diner, and the former skateboard park next door is gone. Parking for the diner would be available in the adjacent lot and on the street.

Manning, a Portland native whose family owned Eddie?s Shamrock Cafe on India Street, lives in New Jersey and works for Newsweek magazine.

Manning became interested in the diner after following news reports that the city was looking for a new owner for the 58-year-old dining car. He won approval from the City Council last August to purchase the diner and the parcel of land on Marginal Way.

The diner was given to the city in 2005 by Randall Chasse and has been in storage in Bayside since last year.
 
So you mean to tell me I am no longer going to be able to cut across that lot on my way from the O.P. to Boru's? A 7 story building would be perfect for that lot. At first I thought you meant that one of those giant parking lots was going to be wasted on a 7-story building. At least 10-stories shuold be built on one or both of those lots. Thanks for the link.
 
Developer wants Portland Pie to go
Scarborough developer Kerry Anderson has submitted plans to put a seven-story retail, office and condo building on the corner of Fore and Center streets, at the edge of Portland's Old Port. The structure would rise from a parcel currently used for parking next to the building occupied by the cocktail bar ?na and the pizza parlor Portland Pie.

Though ?na would be unaffected by the development, Portland Pie owner Stephen Freese said his business is being ousted.

Tim Bryant, of the firm Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios, is representing Portland Pie in the dispute. He said Anderson is attempting to terminate the pizza parlor's lease on grounds its ovens are causing soot and smoke problems in the building. Bryant and his client dispute that.

"Our experts say it's not true, and common sense says it's not true," said Bryant. "It's a dry heat" that cooks the pizzas, he said.

Bryant said Portland Pie has offered to replace the ventilation system, but that offer was rebuffed by Anderson. "I'm not sure what else my guys can do," said Bryant.

Anderson did not return a call seeking comment.

Plans call for retail space on the building's ground floor, two floors of office space on the second and third stories, and four floors containing 16 condominium units on top. The price of the condos is yet to be determined.

Parking would be provided in the lot behind the Irish pub Brian Bor?. Anderson acquired the block of largely vacant land around Bor? last year, and has attempted to purchase the pub, but its owners have thus far refused his offers. The parties have clashed over smaller details, like the placement of a fence along the pub's patio [see "Big plans brewing around Brian Bor?," August 23, 2006].

Bor? co-owner Laurence Kelly has said Anderson is interested in developing a large "complex" of buildings on the site. The nearly 82-foot-high structure planned for the corner of the lot may be just the beginning.

Real estate broker Tom Moulton partnered with Anderson to build and market retail and condo units on the corner of Congress and Oak street a couple years ago. Moulton said he'll be involved in marketing the Fore/Center Street building's commercial and residential spaces, but does not know when the project will be completed or why Portland Pie is being told to vacate their space in the building Anderson owns next door.

Moulton and Anderson are also working together on the Oak Street Live/Work Lofts, another new project Anderson is building downtown. Located in a parking lot behind the Point Five Lounge (the bar adjoining the Congress Street restaurant Five Fifty-Five), this project has retail on its ground floor and three stories above containing 16 residential "live/work" units.

Parking will be provided by an underground lot, Moulton said. He said the current surface parking lot on the site is an "underutilized" overflow lot for another downtown office building.

Portland Pie opened on India Street in 1997, and moved into the Fore Street location in late 2004. It also has pizza shops in South Portland and Westbrook.

The eatery's lease at the Fore Street space runs, with extensions, for 13 more years, said Bryant. He speculated that Anderson may be trying to evict Portland Pie in order to replace it with a business that will pay higher rent or better complement the offices and condos being planned next door.
 
Patrick said:
Developer wants Portland Pie to go
Scarborough developer Kerry Anderson has submitted plans to put a seven-story retail, office and condo building on the corner of Fore and Center streets, at the edge of Portland's Old Port. The structure would rise from a parcel currently used for parking next to the building occupied by the cocktail bar ?na and the pizza parlor Portland Pie.

Though ?na would be unaffected by the development, Portland Pie owner Stephen Freese said his business is being ousted.

Tim Bryant, of the firm Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios, is representing Portland Pie in the dispute. He said Anderson is attempting to terminate the pizza parlor's lease on grounds its ovens are causing soot and smoke problems in the building. Bryant and his client dispute that.

"Our experts say it's not true, and common sense says it's not true," said Bryant. "It's a dry heat" that cooks the pizzas, he said.

Bryant said Portland Pie has offered to replace the ventilation system, but that offer was rebuffed by Anderson. "I'm not sure what else my guys can do," said Bryant.

Anderson did not return a call seeking comment.

Plans call for retail space on the building's ground floor, two floors of office space on the second and third stories, and four floors containing 16 condominium units on top. The price of the condos is yet to be determined.

Parking would be provided in the lot behind the Irish pub Brian Bor?. Anderson acquired the block of largely vacant land around Bor? last year, and has attempted to purchase the pub, but its owners have thus far refused his offers. The parties have clashed over smaller details, like the placement of a fence along the pub's patio [see "Big plans brewing around Brian Bor?," August 23, 2006].

Bor? co-owner Laurence Kelly has said Anderson is interested in developing a large "complex" of buildings on the site. The nearly 82-foot-high structure planned for the corner of the lot may be just the beginning.

Real estate broker Tom Moulton partnered with Anderson to build and market retail and condo units on the corner of Congress and Oak street a couple years ago. Moulton said he'll be involved in marketing the Fore/Center Street building's commercial and residential spaces, but does not know when the project will be completed or why Portland Pie is being told to vacate their space in the building Anderson owns next door.

Moulton and Anderson are also working together on the Oak Street Live/Work Lofts, another new project Anderson is building downtown. Located in a parking lot behind the Point Five Lounge (the bar adjoining the Congress Street restaurant Five Fifty-Five), this project has retail on its ground floor and three stories above containing 16 residential "live/work" units.

Parking will be provided by an underground lot, Moulton said. He said the current surface parking lot on the site is an "underutilized" overflow lot for another downtown office building.

Portland Pie opened on India Street in 1997, and moved into the Fore Street location in late 2004. It also has pizza shops in South Portland and Westbrook.

The eatery's lease at the Fore Street space runs, with extensions, for 13 more years, said Bryant. He speculated that Anderson may be trying to evict Portland Pie in order to replace it with a business that will pay higher rent or better complement the offices and condos being planned next door.
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Kerry Anderson :roll: What he is trying to do to the guy at Portland Pie company is all you need to know about Kerry Anderson and the way he does business.
 
Mr. Anderson sounds like a jerk, big developer or not. Portland pie is great for a slice.
 
Patrick said:
Mr. Anderson sounds like a jerk, big developer or not. Portland pie is great for a slice.
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He's a Scarborough developer. Builds these 1 story office space buildings in business parks and also residential stuff. I don't have a clue why he is trying to do a development intown Portland. I know of a couple of people that have had less than pleasurable experiences with the man as a developer.
 
If I had to work in a one story office building, I don't know what I would do. That sounds worse than clapping erasers after school or getting your name on the board.
 
7 stories is a lot, I'm excited. Perhaps it will spark interest in developing the rest of the area.
 
Corey said:
7 stories is a lot, I'm excited. Perhaps it will spark interest in developing the rest of the area.
Click to expand...

I think there are already plans for the rest of that lot, by the same developer.
 
What are those pictures of? They don't show up because I'm on my work computer.






I drove by the intermed site today and they seem to have cleared the place pretty quickly, and they may even have one of the corners started, but I couldn't see too well. Mercy hospital is widening, too, and looks great. Maine med has finally resumed construction after pausing for the winter, and the lofts on chestnut street are starting to add the siding to the esterior, with windows already in. The custom house wharf is also moving fast. the gas station on outer congress street, by douglas street, is being torn down, and I hope something good takes its place. they are moving the old one room gas station in stroudwater, too, which could mean the development proposed for that lot is beginning, and the drive thru starbucks on forest ave looks like it may almost be complete. Now, we just need to pick up the pace on the eastern waterfront a little.
 
Possible probation office move upsets developer
By Kate Bucklin (published: May 17, 2007)
PORTLAND ? A developer said he is withdrawing plans to build a dozen condominiums along Washington Avenue in the East End after learning a Probation and Parole office may be established nearby.

Ron Gan, who splits time between Portland and Chicago, said Monday the risk of building new housing units within two blocks of the Probation and Parole office is too much for him.

?People are not going to want to be there if ex-convicts are walking in and out all day,? he said.

Probation and Parole is now at 655 Congress St., in the heart of downtown. Lisa Nash, the regional correctional administrator in Portland, said the move from Congress Street to the former Three G?s Garage on Washington Avenue is in the planning stages.

?I really can?t discuss it,? she said. ?It is a possibility, but it is not finalized.?

The office serves as a check-in spot for people on probation and parole and is part of the Region 1 Adult Community Corrections office. There are about 7,300 adults under state supervision in Maine.

Three G?s moved to Fox Street more than a year ago, and since then the white building at 107 Washington Ave. has been vacant.

Gan has submitted preliminary plans to the city to build as many as 15 condominiums at 192 Washington Ave. He said the eastern end of Washington Avenue has potential to become Portland?s next ?hip and cool street.?

?The progress is coming up Congress,? Gan said. ?Wash(ington) is two restaurants away from being it.?

The Federal Street Townhouses developer said he had other plans for land he owns along Washington, but is now switching his focus to some other ?high-profile? land he owns on Munjoy Hill.

Portland Police Chief Tim Burton this week said he found out about the plan for the Probation and Parole office Friday and is certain there will be discussions about the possible move.

?Its placement will be well vetted,? the chief said, adding that police are always concerned about where facilities of this type are placed in the city.

Denise Lord, a spokeswoman with the Department of Corrections, did not return a call this week seeking comment.

The possible Probation and Parole move to Washington Avenue is not well known, neighbors of the property said. A message left with a receptionist at the Root Cellar, a popular community center for children across the street from 107 Washington Ave., was not returned. Neither were e-mails sent to Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion.
 
Photos taken this afternoon on my bike commute home from work:

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Pearl Place apartments in Bayside.
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Chestnut Street Lofts

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Commercial Street extension at Hancock Street (future site of the Watermark condos)

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Fore Street Office building. Note the operable windows- I think that this building is going for LEED certification.
 
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