Portland, ME - New Construction Continued

Visited Portland yesterday and was very impressed with all the new construction. The city is looking Good!!! I'm excited with the resurgence of downtown and the East Wharf/harbor area.
Are their any plans for the Grand Trunk (One India Street) building. Is it on the historic register? This building is a prime location for a major restoration/build out.
As usual I enjoyed lunch at Gilberts and walked over to Two Cats (?) to snag a fresh cherry pie.
Can't wait for my next visit.
 
Happy to hear you enjoyed your visit yesterday. A few years ago, the Grand Trunk was incorporated in architectural renderings into a very large luxury condominium project (the one for which the parking garage to its rear was built). It would have had close to 100 condos (maybe more, maybe less, can’t remember) as well as retail. It was called the Riverwalk, then changed to the Watermark. At about the same time as it got ensnared in a legal battle about who owned the land the parking garage sat on, the recession hit. The recession left all of the large open areas in that neighborhood (then a ghetto with a few bright spots) and since that time the neighborhood has really developed organically with spill over from Munjoy, Congress, and the Old Port/Downtown. Now it is one of the most bustling neighborhoods in town, with Two Fat Cats, a new lobster/wine co. restaurant on the way, East Ender, Duckfat, two new hotels, Sebago Brewing Co., new condos, Pepper Club, Hugos, Ribolita’s, and a number of other small businesses, and college students in surrounding areas, not to mention the Portland Yacht Co., annual shows at the Portland Co. Complex, Cruise Ship terminal and eastern prom trail (connected to the Bayside and Boulevard trails).
The Bayhouse (a large condo project) is being built up the street this year, as apartments though, and the Hampton Inn/Sebago Brewing Co. is adding a major new development to its eastern end, too, along India by Two Fat Cats. Oh, and Micuccis is one of the best pizza places and local markets in town, to which people drive from all over.
Scroll through these pics for the renderings of the project formerly proposing to incorporate the Grand Trunk. http://www.thewatermarkportland.com/gallery.html
I hope you got to eat at some of the restaurants along Congress, which are some of my favorite these days. If not, next time try Emilitsa (my favorite), 555, or even Nosh (another favorite….mmmm nosh burger). Green Elephant is good, too, as well as countless others up and down (Bar Lola, Front Room, Blue Spoon…..mmmmm)
 
Patrick, thanks for all the information. Watermark would be a major game changer. The Grand Trunk gets a bit lost, but that is better than losing a jewel.
Thanks for the foodie sugestions. I will put them to good use. We (6 of us) are planning Downeaster day trips in May and August..
 
Last night's planning board workshop was on UNE's master plan and conditions of approval for the Pharmacy School approved in 2008. Most of the discussion was over parking (irritating that this even has to be a factor), but one exciting thing to note is that the school seems intent on constructing a dental school on its Portland campus in the near future (recall the former plans to build where Federated is considering Maritime Landing). If I remember correctly the thing that did those plans (Bayside) in is the fact that the property would not be tax generating, and therefore bad for the city. However, even though I would rather see Federated's project, I disagree it would have been bad for the city. Imagine what hundreds of dental students walking the streets of Bayside would do for the neighborhood and investment interest in surrounding structures/lots! Also, the school is proposing several community dental clinics where students can practice and people get free dental care (or reduced cost), something the neighborhoods around Bayside could benefit from (on foot). Lastly, usually schools make contributions in lieu of tax payments, and I don't remember any discussion of that issue when it was being talked about. It would be nice if the school could just lease from TFC and build in Bayside anyway. The location is perfect for a school...gym, supermarkets, recreational trails, downtown, etc. Lastly, the school itself said that this location would solve all of its parking problems. Does F-I-L apply in Bayside Christian? This is something I should know but have yet to have an opportunity to look into.

Next planning board meeting reviews the revised site plan for the Bay House. About time! This has been on the shelves since 2005, originally as the Village at Ocean Gate. Do we all remember that?
 
Yep, Fee In Lieu applies in Bayside, and in all commercial zones on the Portland peninsula. It would be nice to get an amendment to that to include the (off-peninsula) area of Libbytown, in the vicinity of the train station and Thompson's Point, since that's anticipated to be a "transit-oriented" district, supposedly.

I think that the planning board has the authority to initiate changes like that, Patrick, if you're interested in leading the charge...
 
I am absolutely interested in leading any charge that will benefit the city's quality of life, but before doing so I have to get my feet under me on the Board (procedures, protocol, traditions, etc.). Still working on that. I was appointed months ago, but my first meeting was last Tuesday. Thanks for the info and, on an unrelated note, did you ever get my response to your email regarding Portland renderings?
 
I have some (minimal) experience with PILOT/F-I-L agreements. From my general understanding the planning board can propose expanding them to new areas/organizations, but as an amendment to a previously adopted policy, such a proposal will probably have to be passed by vote in the City Council. Since these are primarily political policies anyway and essentially non-enforceable (being voluntary) I would imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to find political backing for such a proposal once you get it rolling.
 
BeeLine said:
Patrick, thanks for all the information. Watermark would be a major game changer. The Grand Trunk gets a bit lost, but that is better than losing a jewel.
Thanks for the foodie sugestions. I will put them to good use. We (6 of us) are planning Downeaster day trips in May and August..
Click to expand...

Cool! Enjoy!
 
Hutchison said:
I have some (minimal) experience with PILOT/F-I-L agreements. From my general understanding the planning board can propose expanding them to new areas/organizations, but as an amendment to a previously adopted policy, such a proposal will probably have to be passed by vote in the City Council. Since these are primarily political policies anyway and essentially non-enforceable (being voluntary) I would imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to find political backing for such a proposal once you get it rolling.
Click to expand...

What's PILOT stand for? I suppose the ILO stands for In Lieu Of.

My curiosity is in how a planning board member leads the charge on developing policy when I view that as more of a legislative function. If I knew of a policy channel to pursue, I would pursue it. I suspect as I settle into my position on the Board the policies and procedures will become more apparent and easy to utilize. Right now I have no idea what I'm doing in a procedural sense, although everyone involved is very helpful and kind in explaining things to me. I've always thought that as great and interesting as architecture and buildings are, a city is nothing if not its people....and Portland has some great ones, the Board and planning staff are no exceptions....then there are the characters, leaders, thinkers, artists, activists, just about anyone and everyone you can think of (and when you visit a real city, like Boston, you even see people you never could have thought of on your own...stranger than fiction types).
 
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What's PILOT stand for? I suppose the ILO stands for In Lieu Of.
Click to expand...
I believe PILOT stands for payment in lieu of taxes, like those of university or other tax-empt entity.

What are those photos from? An apartment above the public market?
 
yeah, that's an apartment house above the the public market house. $900,000 view framing the onetime tallest building in New England.
 
Those Pedi-Cabs are a great idea for Portland. I might try one myself this summer to get uptown from the waterfront and back down. I wonder if the city will regulate them too hard to cause them to charge high rates?
 
I agree this sounds like a fun way to ride around the city.

As for your concern about regulatory costs passed on to the consumer, what did you have in mind? I can't imagine they would be regulated in any overly strict manner when there are segway tours buzzing about. I think the city's transportation plans, particularly for the peninsula, mean that it would be 'all for this'. At least I hope so.
 
Sorry for the delay, but FrankLloydMike had it right in that PILOT stands for "Payment in Lieu of Taxes" agreements. PILOT agreements tend to be most prevalent in the northeast due to the large number of tax exempt institutions in the are. In fact I recall reading somewhere that somewhere around 2/3-3/4 of all municipalities that have PILOT agreement provisions are in MA. In any case, while non-profits are generally federally protected most seem to accept PILOT costs, as long as they are reasonable, as part of the built in price of being where they want to be.
 
Tonight’s planning board meeting will feature a number of projects, including:
The Bay House: a major mixed use project in Portland’s India Street neighborhood, which is seeking to amend its site plan and contract zone agreement, with slight exterior changes and a request to place utilities above-grade and across the street, as well as a request to pay the required public contribution toward Hancock Street ($200k) out over ten years as opposed to immediately.

Danforth on High, a high density project on a former USM parking lot on a prominent corner in the West End for which proposals were solicited through an RFP process in 2007. Random Orbitz, LLC came forth to propose a structure which is similar to this one, but the market for condo financing fell through, and the project is now proposed as an elderly housing complex (defined loosely to include “active” people who are not really elderly at all, as in 55 or older) and it will be an apartment now instead of condos. Most of the applicants for the previous project were at or near typical retirement age, so this is the same market as before. The corner is now more prominent, with the top level extended to accommodate an elevator. There are 30 units proposed and less than half a parking space per unit.

There are other, smaller projects as well.
 
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