Portland, ME - New Construction Continued

grittys457 said:
And I doubt an aquarium would be feasible but that's what I'm talking about. Something to go to, something to do. You can only walk around outside and do so much. We should have picked the whole damn public market up by helicopters and dropped it down on to the parking lot next to Boru. That place was ideal, just a block too far away. Imagine how popular it would be now post foodie town explosion?

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Give the people who live and work in this area stuff they need and not just entire stores that sell salt items. Yes I expect that's what will become of Bayside in the future but there's no reason not to diversify the old port now.
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Good points, Grittys. I have mentioned before that it seems like there should be more "attractions" to go along with how many hotel rooms we have. I guess it's working out okay for now since developers are still filling hotel rooms and building new ones. Perhaps the attractions outside of Portland should also be factored into the equation, like the shopping in Freeport and the outdoorsy stuff towards Sebago Lake and further north/west. I'd be curious to know how many hotel visitors bring their cars along for the visit. I still think an aquarium would be great. Perhaps it's just a safer bet for investors to build hotels than to look at creating new "places." And welcoming retails stores that cater not only to tourists is important. Just imagine if the Maine Mall was an urban shopping center (multi-story, no surface parking lots) that existed in Bayside. Just a thought.
 
I know first hand that visitors commute into downtown. This past summer myself and 5 other friends drove up to Portland while renting a cottage in Old Orchard Beach. I mentioned this earlier this year, but they were all impressed by, A. How many pedestrians were walking around the city in middle of the week, B. The blocks and blocks of Commerce and points of interests throughout downtown, C.The amount of cafes and restaurants that were actually busy,D. The population of young people that were out and about in restaurants, museums, stores, etc., and E. Safety, even the homeless people seemed chill/non threatening. I think many people take day trips to Portland who live within 3 hours of the Greater Portland Area. We had a great time, checked out the Art Museum, which was a pleasant surprise, and ate at some great restaurants. Two of my friends who have been to Seattle and Portland, OR a handful of times, but never to Portland, ME said the Portland felt like a city out of the pacific northwest, with all the coffee shops, huge amount of hipsters in and around downtown, and the laid-back approach locals seemed to have. I honestly think Portland's population will continue to rise as well. I looked at property in the greater Portland area when looking to buy a home, but the cost of living is higher than Manchester, NH.
I recently read an article online mentioning how Portland is a great place to retire, minus the winters and high taxes. The reason is it is so close to so much, and the social services are decent in the State of Maine for older populations.
I think an aquarium would work, maybe out by Thompson's Point or in close proximity to the Old Port.
 
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Appears that downtown Portland will be well represented across the hotel branding spectrum with Westin, Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott (2), Holiday Inn and Hampton Inn. Add the Portland Regency, Portland Harbor Hotel and the proposed Press Herald site to the mix and you are talking about 1400+ rooms downtown which is pretty impressive for any city let alone one with a population of 67,000. Did not count the Clarion Hotel or the La Quinta because I consider them downtown fringe.
 
Compared to what Hyatt Place usually builds, this looks fantastic. I absolutely love the corner.

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Hyatt Place, Medford (the one you see off 93)
 
That nighttime rendering looks pretty slick. That spot on the corner is going to be retail, right?

Some recent Danforth on High photos:

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Corey said:
That nighttime rendering looks pretty slick. That spot on the corner is going to be retail, right?

Some recent Danforth on High photos:

jy1zx.jpg


HtccF.jpg
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Yeah the corner is pretty cool. Originally it was supposed to create a tower element on the corner but the zoning administrator determined it would not meet the requirement of a set back after x number of feet vertical rise. I thought an exception might have been made given that it was an ornamental and functional element of the building, but I wasn't on the planning board to see this through to completion. If I remember correctly, the base will have retail and restaurant, and I think you're right the retail is in the smaller area on the corner.
 
Portlander said:
Appears that downtown Portland will be well represented across the hotel branding spectrum with Westin, Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott (2), Holiday Inn and Hampton Inn. Add the Portland Regency, Portland Harbor Hotel and the proposed Press Herald site to the mix and you are talking about 1400+ rooms downtown which is pretty impressive for any city let alone one with a population of 67,000. Did not count the Clarion Hotel or the La Quinta because I consider them downtown fringe.
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Any idea who is scouting the former Press Herald building? I think it would be a great location for a Kimpton Hotel. They are a sort of boutique "chain" if that makes any sense. They have a good track record of reusing downtown buildings and historic structures. They have a very eco-friendly and hip image. Portland would be a small market for them but I think it could work.
 
It is very good that we are getting the variety of names in the city, especially Hyatt and Westin. Makes the city look a little more serious.

Speaking of Kimpton brand, I'm staying at the Eventi hotel in NYC in a few months. I can't believe how cheap I'm getting the rooms at. Barely over 200 a night before taxes. Hell you can't get that at hotels here. Why can't somebody build a hotel like this here?

http://www.eventihotel.com/
 
The developers of the Press Herald Building hotel project have not decided whether to operate independently or to be affiliated with a national chain. Hopefully they can lure either the Travelodge, Super 8 or Econo Lodge brand to the location which would make grittys a very happy man!
 
This is the western commercial street project, courtesy of one of the other frequent visitors to this site. It looks like it will be replacing the western most portion of the row of buildings already there, and if I remember correctly there are a few other phases to this project which may be built at a later time. Looks good!

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I like it. Too bad Opechee is stuck on the 6 story level. A push up to 7 or 8 stories wouldn't be bad. This should be a nice addition to the Commercial street wall as it extends Westward.
 
Not too bad, but not too innovative either. But I'm of the opinion that not every building could or should be innovative. All in all I think this is a very positive project for the City in the sense that it provides another basic urban background building and will be another source of foot traffic for the area. I really like how it will make Gorham's Corner more of a connected part of the City too. I think the height limit is 65' there, Shazbat, which means its less to do with Opechee and more to do with the zoning (same in the Eastern Waterfront area). Very good.

I should add that I do like this one more than the recent proposal on Fore Street. I like modern buildings but really like Portland's grouping of the historic and pseudo historic too, where appropriate.

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I like what it will do for that area but flat squat brick with a random patch of white is getting really really old
 
grittys457 said:
I like what it will do for that area but flat squat brick with a random patch of white is getting really really old
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While I think it's a nice building I do agree with you. My only concern is that I don't hate what's there now (even if it's a little boring) but because my definition of modern and exciting is likely different than others', I may hate what's proposed if this sort of style were backed away from in certain neighborhoods. There are exciting modern architectural wonders all over the world, and from a building standpoint they are great, but from an urban design standpoint sometimes can be strange. Also, remember this is in an HP district, so the developer probably doesn't want to risk having HP to tell it that this is a brick district after it proposes an all metal and glass light-up structure (because that's obvious, and would require re-design and expense). This building however is probably a safe bet. Would you rather see the Sussman condo project? I wouldn't....I think that building will be an eyesore.
 
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