Portland, ME - New Construction Continued

[AMcDowell32]

Hey guys... new to the board, love the updates on downtown Portland. Keep it up!!


Quick question for you experts - does anyone know what is going on with the plot of land over near the residence inn on fore street? we've been living on the east end for almost two years and it seems that absolutely nothing has been done with what seems to me is extremely valuable land.


thanks for the insight!!

 

[grittys457]

The Eastland(hopefully the Westin) are looking to build a new ballroom on the Congress Square site. Yeah, we'd lose a huge outdoor space but who in the hell wants to go through there with the characters hanging out? I still thought an skating rink would have been cool or something...

http://misc.portlandmaine.gov/current.pdf

Enter page 65

Welcome to the board AMcDowell32

I assume you're talking about the fenced in spot right in front of the Residence Inn. That is a long failed condo project. Looked really nice but the economy tanking and the co-owners bickering against each other killed it. The project behind the Residence is Bayhouse condos. Don't hold your breath on that either. City should really step in and force somebody to make a move on those sites

 

[AMcDowell32]

Thanks gritty... i did mean the one basically between the residence inn and the ocean gateway site.

seems like a giant waste of space and money at this point, especially with the city growing a bit in other areas.

 

[Patrick]

Hey guys... new to the board, love the updates on downtown Portland. Keep it up!!


Quick question for you experts - does anyone know what is going on with the plot of land over near the residence inn on fore street? we've been living on the east end for almost two years and it seems that absolutely nothing has been done with what seems to me is extremely valuable land.


thanks for the insight!!

Hello, AMcDowell,

The waterside lot in front of the Marriott Residence Inn is a dirt parking lot used by the tenants of that one story oddly positioned office structure, home to SMRT architects. Then there is a large loading/parking area for Ocean Gateway. Then the fenced in area, as Gritty's mentioned, was home to a failed development project, see below:

It would have been fantastic, but a lawsuit over ownership of the adjacent parking garage and other issues (including SEC investigations into one of the developers, I think) stalled the thing, even before the recession.

Behind the Marriott is another large site, home to the Bay House project, which has been presented to the city in various forms, including several mid rise towers of up to about ten stories. It was finally approved at roughly 5 stories in several complexes and stages of development. It too has stalled due to the economy, and recently requested a 15 month extension on its site plan approval. If it doesn't begin construction in that time, it will have to start over again.

I agree the land is very valuable, but unfortunately the recession prevented a lot of the pieces of the larger urban puzzle from coming together, and now a lot of the neighborhood complains about the large holes in the urban fabric (and rightly so, but I think it is leading them to think the developers are bad guys or something, when in fact the recession is global in nature and not localized to their backyard).

 

[Patrick]

Thanks gritty... i did mean the one basically between the residence inn and the ocean gateway site.

seems like a giant waste of space and money at this point, especially with the city growing a bit in other areas.

Somewhere on this site there is a thread dedicated to the Eastern Waterfront. You may find a better description of the lengthy process of project proposals, zoning changes, project approvals, and recessionary project scuttling that has taken place in there. You may also want to familiarize yourself with the Eastern Waterfront Master Plan, available online at the City's website. I agree it is a waste of money, but the capital is unavailable at this time due to factors largely beyond the control of the local market (banks rely on global credit markets, which have been in a less than desirable state, to put it quite mildly).

I think it was the recent Brookings Institution report--2006 was it?--that cited Portland as one of the worst cases of urban sprawl in the country (hard to believe, because we are so small, but this is in percentage terms, not absolute), so yes, the city is growing in other areas. I think most of that growth should be captured in and around Portland, because the raw materials are there (houses, retail developments, etc....) we just need to make sure they are going in the right places to ensure this city continues to be greater than the some of its parts.

 

[Corey]

I really like how the Pierce Atwood HQ came out after renovations, makes this side of Commercial Street feel more alive:

 

[Portlander]

Gritty's, nice find on the potential Eastand (Westin) ballroom addition at Congress Square. I hope the new owners are successful with their proposal and I think it will vastly improve the streetscape on that stretch of Congress Street as long as the architecture blends well and is at least two floors. Then maybe I'll drop the "dysfunction junction" nickname I have given to the square.

 

[Patrick]

Gritty's, nice find on the potential Eastand (Westin) ballroom addition at Congress Square. I hope the new owners are successful with their proposal and I think it will vastly improve the streetscape on that stretch of Congress Street as long as the architecture blends well and is at least two floors. Then maybe I'll drop the "disfunction junction" nickname I have given to the square.

I thought it was amusing how the document linked to says that the park is a vital resource for Portland and open space is scarce etc. Uh, if it's so awesome, why is it being studied for re-use and consistently labeled a "dysfunction" (good way to describe it, Portlander)? And the Deering Oaks Park is just three or so blocks to the north, near the greater density residential populations. I don't think this area is suitable for anything other than a building.

 

[Corey]

I think a building will be good here and trust that the planning board will enforce the highest of design standards. The most important guideline to me, which is in the city council agenda document, is that it "actively engages with the surrounding streets and sidewalks and constitues a worthy architectural and urban design solution..." I would like to see a slightly wider sidewalk than in front of Paul's, which seems a bit cramped at times (based on observations of walking in front of it at least twice a day). Paul's is another topic for another day, but I think there is a direct link between the rough and tumble character of Congress Square Park and the fact that Paul's is next door. Improving the park/putting a building here will not solve all the current problems but is a good first step.

 

[Patrick]

I think a building will be good here and trust that the planning board will enforce the highest of design standards. The most important guideline to me, which is in the city council agenda document, is that it "actively engages with the surrounding streets and sidewalks and constitues a worthy architectural and urban design solution..." I would like to see a slightly wider sidewalk than in front of Paul's, which seems a bit cramped at times (based on observations of walking in front of it at least twice a day). Paul's is another topic for another day, but I think there is a direct link between the rough and tumble character of Congress Square Park and the fact that Paul's is next door. Improving the park/putting a building here will not solve all the current problems but is a good first step.

The tricky thing, Corey, is that you cannot enforce design guidelines, because they are advisory only. That being said, if they are standards, like minimum building height, that's a different story, and can be enforced. Moreover, even if they were enforceable, who determines what "actively engages with the surrounding streets and sidewalks and constitues a worthy architectural and urban design solution..." means? Worthy as determined by whom? These are the types of words that create legal minefields because they are so vague that a developer has no idea what is required of them to be able to do something with their property, and therefore in essence steals that property from them (in the sense that it prevents a reasonable return on investment). I'm not saying that's going to happen here, but it is something to watch out for. That's also a reason form-based codes are interesting to me, because they allow enforcing otherwise advisory guidelines, and are defined in a very definite way. I think the ballroom is a great idea and Pauls probably won't help the area but I am stuck in my opinion, which changes frequently, regarding it. On one hand, you are right about the unsavory characters which emanate from it; on the other, I wonder where the lower income people would shop for essentials if not Pauls?

 

[grittys457]

Incredible the amount of work they've put into the urban outfitters building. Metal sign above door is up and they put the flags out for a bit the other day. Inside looks like it's a week away from being finished. Great use of that space.

 

[Patrick]

agreed.

 

[Matt68]

Great Pics Of Pierce Atwood HQ Corey. I Agree It Looks Like It Came Out Nice. Commercial Street Is My Favorite Street In Portland And One Of The Best In Urban USA

 

[Corey]

Thanks, Matt!

Patrick - Good points, I think some form of FBC would be great for downtown and would allow me to rest easier when something new is proposed. It would help take some burden off of the developer and the planning board too, I imagine. Paul's is indeed a necessity for many people who live nearby it so I think it justifies its existence. Maybe the Eastland owners will enforce a "no loitering" policy outside of their new building and will help move along the the folks begging for money. Although they will just go somewhere else I suppose. It's a tricky situation. As a liberal, I support the social service offerings here but at the same time I don't like making excuses for Portland when friends and family come visit and worry that they will be mugged

Grittys - I agree, looks great inside there. They've been keeping the front entrance unobstructed so passerby's can keep an eye on the progress. It's a great example of how an older building can have many uses throughout its life. Not only is it a viable space for many uses, it's a beautiful building in general. Contrast that to modern bank buildings like the 1-story Gorham Savings Bank on Marginal Way, which aren't built with the same flexibility or with longevity in mind.

 

[mainejeff]

Can anyone gets pics of Urban Outfitters?......it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Patrick]

This is probably my favorite new building in Portland. Imagine what the area would be like with more of these.

 

[Corey]

Yeah a few more buildings like that would be nice on this section of Forest Avenue. I appreciate that it is built right up against the sidewalk, although they didn't have much of an option due to the railroad tracks behind it. That building is still empty right? Looks like a good place for an office or a bakery or something.

Couple of photos from earlier this month of the area behind the Hampton Inn, so far:

 

[Corey]

Can anyone gets pics of Urban Outfitters?......it would be greatly appreciated.

Some photos from today:

The outside isn't too different at this point, just looks like it's been touched up (it was in pretty good condition to begin with). The permanent addition of the store flags outside will be nice.

 

[grittys457]

Nice pics corey but it doesn't even do it justice until you see it lit up in person. REally nice to have a first rate retail space downtown. Been a long long time since we have.

 

[Patrick]

Just receuved an email from federated and they plan to startconstruction on their one million square foot development, which is almost as big as the mall, in april. Over 500 units of housing are planned. What am i missing? As much as this seems difficult, i hope this builds the critical mass of acticity the area needs to get going. Now if we could only fix marginal way in the process.