Portland, ME - New Construction Continued

Corey, the mega berth that is planned for the eastern waterfront will supposedly host the world's largest cruise ships, which can span almost 1,200 feet in length. And they are MUCH taller and more imposing on the skyline. I do agree with your liberty ship comment, though, but I think this will be a unique item on Portland's waterfront, something that will add to our attractiveness unlike anything else.
 
Have you guys seen that King of the Roll sign at night yet lit up? Very urban, looks great.
 
grittys457 said:
Have you guys seen that King of the Roll sign at night yet lit up? Very urban, looks great.
Click to expand...

I agree, it looks great. Any extra lighting in this area is a plus.

Has anyone seen this before? It's on page 235 of the recent city council agenda. It's a "view corridor protection plan." Interesting. Speaking of view corridors, I think they should have had one along Park Avenue/Portland Street going up to City Hall. You can just barely see the top of the building over the old public market parking garage.

viewprotection.png
 
I have seen that before (or one like it). I agree there should have been a sight corridor to city hall, and in some of the old planning documents I've read the same point is made. That map must have been made after the parking garage already ruined that view. I think it would have almost looked Washington DC ish to look straight down Park, into Portland, and on to City Hall. I always think about that. What a cruddy view now.
 
Nice photo updates, Patrick. Some good stuff happening on that side of town.
 
Well nothing to do with construction, but went up there with my dog yesterday, have not been to Portlan in a long time. Made a round trip to Portsmouth, Kittery, Exeter, Portland ME then off to N. Conway (holy Cow crowded for the weekend) then camped over night last night in the pouring rain. Then came down 93.

Anyways, Portland ME is extremely nice. I think the city just has more money, as like most everyone has money who lives there.

Nice parks, nice city, very nice public buildings and markets there. I drove around for at least and hour and walked a bit. Was taking photos on this tri[ but honestly, nothing really caught my eye. Did get some photos in other spots though.

One cool thing I'll post somewhere else, and AMC and White Mt. National Forest foot bridge that I was impressed by with its architecture.
 
Josh, I believe he is comparing the city to Manchester, NH, in which case he would be right, at least based on the anecdotal perception of a visitor. Portland caters to the well to do on vacation on their way up the Maine coast, and for that reason tends to have a more boutique type feel to its downtown. Manchester on the other hand is more of a working class city. Although Portland has its fair share of this demographic, too, it tries to put on a gloss for visitors. That poverty statistic may or may not be accurate, as it is from the 2000 census. Burlington, VT is similar in that it has a large underclass but appears to visitors to be a quaint college town with nice restaurants and galleries. Burlington has a 20% poverty rate, more than Portland, yet all a visitor sees is fancy college students and nice stores. Boston and many other cities are the same way.
 
Sorry, comparing it to just other small cities. Just form when i visited, it looks like more people their have a bit more money than most other smaller cities.

Manchester, Nashua, Worcester. Just was surprised, that is all.
 
So although I am right that Portland does not have the worse poverty rate, maybe some of the other cities I am referring to Nashua, Manch, Worcester, with improvement, they will "mask" their poverty as well?

Just some facts, but NHIA in Manchester, I never knew this, but after looking into the college because I plan to go there, they only started in like 1997 and have not been around that long, 300+ students. I never knew how young the school was. But maybe since they are so young they still have time to add to the city, like colleges in Burlington.
 
Yeah thanks Corey. Its amazing how many wide open vacant lots the recession resulted in.

Also, the Hampton looks a lot smaller in reality than the renderings. What a large site.

Portlander mentioned how far along the Jetport construction has come, but until I saw it with my own eyes I didn't quite realize what he was talking about. The place has literally risen overnight. The steel frame structure is now almost totally in place. It is huge.
 
I spoke with someone knowledgeable about the Hampton project recently, and this is what I was told, unofficially: the footprint is only about 55% of the planned total project site at this time. In the end, the structure will be almost twice the size as what we see now. The idea is to erect some of the steel frame, pour some concrete, and get some other subcontractors in that section to begin work while the rest of the frame is put in place. 1 and 1/2 more floors of steel are also scheduled to rise before the structure "tops out." Should be interesting to watch.
 
Is it just me, or does there seem to be an abundance of construction in this little city for this sort of an economic climate? The jetport, the Hampton, Crescent Heights, the creative workspace at Bramhall Square, and what seems to be an ever increasing number of small adaptive reuse projects (in the Hannaford plaza on Forest Ave and another site up the street on outer Forest, to name but two).
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I like that the hotel is right up against the street. Glad to see it rising fast.

Over in Bramhall Square:

portlandmainefall2010br.jpg
 
Yeah I agree Corey. It embraces the idea of "meet the street". I'm not sure if that was a developer's move or if the city requires it in the EWZ ordinance. Either way, it really has done a lot for that end of Franklin street, which is the best looking by far. Today I noticed at least one section of the western portion of the frame has reached its maximum height of 6 floors. I like the scale a lot.

Also, thanks for posting the Bramhall infill, I haven't seen that site in a while.
 
In Portland, a new building rises

Construction of a new six-story building in Portland is on schedule and condos are already close to being sold.

By J. Hemmerdinger jhemmerdinger@pressherald.com
Reporter

PORTLAND ? Construction of a six-story building on the lot that was home to Jordan's Meats is progressing on schedule and is expected to be complete by the middle of next year.
portland-press-herald_3360499.jpg

Iron workers Dillon Nutting, left, and Danny Twombly connect sixth-floor steel beams at the former Jordan?s Meats site in Portland on Monday. The new building will house a hotel, restaurant and condos.

John Patriquin/Staff Photographer
Select images available for purchase in the
Maine Today Photo Store

The building will house a 122-room Hampton Inn hotel, 12 upscale condominiums and a Sebago Brewing Co. restaurant.

Mark Woglom, president of Belmont, N.H.-based Opechee Construction Corp., said about half of the steel structure is completed. On a busy day, he said, 60 to 70 workers are on the site.

Sebago Brewing Co. is expected to open first, in late spring or early summer. Shortly after, the hotel and condominiums will be complete, Woglom said.

The structure is on a 1.74-acre lot bordered by Franklin Arterial and India, Middle and Fore streets.

Town & Shore Associates is selling the condominiums, which are being marketed under the name Portside and range in price from $210,000 to more than $400,000.

The condos went on the market two weeks ago and, already, eight of them are under contract, said Sandy Johnson, listing broker with real estate company. The four unsold units all will have two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and are priced at $289,900.

The sixth-floor units will have hardwood floors, central air conditioning, gas fireplaces, parking and a dedicated lobby and elevator.

Johnson said demand has been strong because there "isn't anything like it in Portland." She said buyers have tended to be baby boomers who want to live within walking distance of the city's attractions.
 
I don't recall hearing about this at 144 Fore Street:

http://munjoyhillnews.com/2010/10/22/va-medical-offices-in-progress-at-144-fore-street/

I guess they are putting new siding up on the building and paving the dirt parking lot next to it.

Edit: Here's a PPH story about it from August. Interesting piece from the article:

To make the project work, the city will have to convey to Marino a 2,775-square-foot section of a gravel lot on Thames Street. Marino has agreed to pay $89,000 for the lot.

The deal also calls for the city to give Marino a license agreement to allow joint use of a travel lane between Marino's property and the city-owned lot.

City officials say they want to develop the lot in the future, and the agreement would not compromise the city's ability to do that.
 
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