Portland, ME - New Construction Continued

A guy who will be working on canal hotel said within a couple weeks they'll be ripping down bricks from the garage. I guess it's going to attach to it
 
Thanks for the updates guys! A lot going before the white stuff flies! I'm assuming that the Canal Plaza hotel got the go ahead, any new renders (post planning/historical board changes, if there were any)?
 
Maritime landing is on the agenda for next week but not uploaded yet. Christian have you been in to review any plans?
 
Nice. Looks like it will be the debut of the master plan. Might be shocking considering they spruced up the massings for the original meetings

Another guy I know has the contract for thompsons point. If they land wright express they could break ground as early as January. If they don't get the office leased.... Could be bad news
 
Interesting article in the Bangor Daily News today: Portland area now accounts for most of state’s economy. Some statistics on how the Greater Portland metro (Cumberland, York and Sagadahoc counties) generates over half of the state GDP and a third of all the jobs. No surprises there but it's interesting comparing comparing Portland's economic prominence compared to other cities of our size. The geographic location of Portland and the relatively undeveloped northern parts of the state certainly add to this generally positive (I think it's positive) phenomenon.
 
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Corey said:
Interesting article in the Bangor Daily News today: Portland area now accounts for most of state’s economy. Some statistics on how the Greater Portland metro (Cumberland, York and Sagadahoc counties) generates over half of the state GDP and a third of all the jobs in the state. No surprises there but it's interesting comparing comparing Portland's economic prominence compared to other cities of our size. The geographic location of Portland and the relatively undeveloped northern parts of the state certainly add to this imbalance.
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I believe the Portland area has always accounted for most of the State's economy. With perhaps a few exceptions, the same statistics apply to all cities -- cities are the economic engines of society.
 
It appears the developers are going to remove the fire escape stairs from the south end of the building?
 
I was also wondering about the fire escape. Seems like something they would need to keep in place in order to be "up to code."

Photo from Emporis:
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Do you think Portland needs a skyscraper? Like a Space Needle type building in the downtown area?
 
Yes.....I think portland does need an iconic building....one that reflects its true charachter
 
I'd love something tall but that's never gonna happen. Plus the bayside project turns our skyline from 2-d to 3-d so an iconic tower at the top of the east parking lot wouldnt mean as much. We need an iconic complex of buildings. Maritime landing and Thompson point are both game changers, but it's time to fill in the parking lots from commercial up past boru. How about underground parking like Boston common with creative use above it that incorporates activities, not just restaurants and hotels
 
Corey said:
Interesting article in the Bangor Daily News today: Portland area now accounts for most of state’s economy. Some statistics on how the Greater Portland metro (Cumberland, York and Sagadahoc counties) generates over half of the state GDP and a third of all the jobs. No surprises there but it's interesting comparing comparing Portland's economic prominence compared to other cities of our size. The geographic location of Portland and the relatively undeveloped northern parts of the state certainly add to this generally positive (I think it's positive) phenomenon.
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Darn right it's positive. Portland has some of the same characteristics of the Northwest........the city serves a wide geographical area, is surrounded by beautiful ocean, forests, mountains, lakes.....lots of stuff that people are looking for in a place to work and live. And most cities (of any size) on the East Coast are devoid of those natural surroundings and recreational opportunities.
 
Now all it needs is a Light Rail , Streetcar and Regional Rail system and its good to go.
 
Nexis4jersey said:
Now all it needs is a Light Rail , Streetcar and Regional Rail system and its good to go.
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My guess is that the fire escape is not being taken out, but was left off because it is difficult to model in sketchup program, although I don't know for sure.

Thanks for putting "up to code" in quotes, Corey, because it draws attention to the fact that even though everyone knows what that saying means it really makes no sense.

As for Portland and an iconic building, the answer is yes, yes, and yes. A lot of detractors will say that the market won't support it (look at the last mayoral race, where the issue was discussed), but the reality is that the market hardly ever supports a "need" for skyscrapers. I'd wager that this is even true in Boston. They are, however, a good way to market a city to others who associate commercial forward-thinking-ness with modern office developments, and if designed right can integrate well into Portland's very walkable human-scaled urban environment.

The developer of Thompson's Point has "building Maine's tallest building" on his radar according to a recent interview. I think traditional urbanism means more and does more for any city, but it would still be nice to have a modern office building to instill pride economic pride in the region. Is that a reason alone to go out and invest millions in building it? No, but I think the market would support it, even if it may not demand it. At least at some point. For those not as familiar with Portland, there have been mini "sky-scrapers" proposed here in the past, most notably a four tower complex reaching as high as 330 feet in the 1980s. That project was market driven, as evidenced by the fact that the only reason it wasn't built is because of the economic changes of the late 1980s and early 1990s (it was approved).

Light rail? Probably not. But that's a political issue. We just connected via Amtrak to Freeport and Brunswick, not Lewiston-Auburn (the population center), and there is a cloud of political conspiracy around that according to some. I'm engaged in a transit oriented development study of land use potential around several potential stops from Portland to Auburn right now, but it's really just setting the stage for others to make informed decisions. Streetcar is more likely, as there has been much talk about that recently, and it would really be re-instituting a former concept.
 
I was wondering why they didn't go for Lewiston-Auburn seemed strange....then you could throw in Augusta and everyone else later. I redid my Map from Earlier...

Downeaster Express
Bangor
Waterville
Augusta
Brunswick
Freeport
Portland Union
Old Orchard Beach
Saco-Biddeford
Wells
Dover
Durham-UNH
Exeter
Haverhill
Woburn
North Station

Downeaster Local
Milford
Old Town
Orono
Bangor
Newport
Pittsfield
Fairfield
Waterville
Augusta
Gardner
Brunswick
Freeport
Yarmouth
Riverton
Portland Union
Old Orchard Beach
Saco-Biddeford
Wells
Dover
Durham-UNH
Exeter
Haverhill
Woburn
North Station

Lewiston Branch
Waterville
Oakland
Belgrade (limited)
Winthrop
Lewiston
Riverton
Portland Union

Portland Metro
Gorham
Westbrook
Rosemont
Portland Union
West End
Old Port
East End
East Deening
Cumberland Foreside
Yarmouth

http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?p=159066#post159066

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=215312482559953359515.0004ce220d503c5297992&msa=0&ll=43.261206,-70.224609&spn=5.351859,13.392334
 
Nexis4jersey said:
I was wondering why they didn't go for Lewiston-Auburn seemed strange....then you could throw in Augusta and everyone else later.
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Lewiston is wondering the same thing. It would only make sense for Canadian transport, too. I think the fact that this is not a commuter train, but rather a daytripping tourist train, explains a lot of it. Brunswick is the gateway to "downeast" (a major Maine tourist area) and Lewiston-Auburn is, well, kind of gross. So, while the population statistics seem to say Lewiston, this train is not a commuter transport system so that almost becomes irrelevant. But again, many people are wondering the same thing--why Brunswick?
 
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