Portland, ME - New Construction Continued

No surprise there, John Cacoulidis is not the easiest individual to deal with. Supposed to have plenty of wealth but he is running out of time to see any of his dreams/ventures ever become a reality. Tom Moulton represents him in his real estate dealings and is an outstanding individual with a true passion for Portland and must be very frustrated trying to help pull off John's visions. It took forever to seal the deal for the conversion of the Gannett property which Cacoulidis owned into a hotel. Not sure if we will ever see the property beside City Hall developed even though Tom has come up with some feasible ideas on what to do with the property.
 
It's amazing how well the Courtyard hotel fits in with the existing buildings. When I approach Portland from the bridge it just blends in with everything else. As an added bonus, from some angles it blocks the horrific green cupolas on top of the Custom House parking garage.
 
Has John Cacoulidis ever actually built anything in Maine besides his own house and the (eventual) Press Hotel?

Having been intown tonight, I saw those steel underpanels on the Hyatt first hand; I wish something like that design were going to remain on the exterior. Still loving the crazy glass, though.
 
John Cacoulidis is not developing the Press Hotel, he finally sold the property after much deliberation which came close to jeopardizing the project's financing and construction deadlines. I am pretty sure he still owns Two Monument Square along with the property beside City Hall on Congress Street. Having met him, I think he is a really nice man with good intentions, but seems to have a difficult time delivering on his ideas in the later stages of his career of being a developer.
 
I've never met him so I'll take your word for it re: who he is as a person, and I stand corrected on the Press Hotel. So far as Two Monument Square goes, he bought that fully-finished, right? IMHO it's easily the ugliest tower in the city; I watched it go up when I was at Cheverus and to this day it looks like a prison block.
 
He purchased 2MS a few years ago with thought of making some exterior improvements to the structure and we are still waiting. I personally told him that due to it's basically flat roofline, it would be a perfect opportunity to add 3-5 floors to the building in a step-back design with an attractive ornamental cap. He thought it was a great idea, but the only improvement I have seen is the new signage on the Congress Street garage entrance.

markhb, I agree that it is not one of Portland's most attractive high rises but I think it now fits better visually since One Monument Square was re-clad with a new exterior. Previously, the two 10 story buildings looked too much alike due to the similar choice in brick tones/materials which was intentional during the design process. Now they at least look like two totally separate towers which I think adds a little more contrast to the skyline. Did you know that 1MS was originally planned as a 20 story tower in 1967? Was going to have banking/retail on the street level, four levels of parking and the remaining 16 floors for office use.

The high rise in Portland that looks the worst and should be on the top of the list for major exterior renovations in my opinion is 511 Congress Street. Completed in 1975, the 10 floor complex looks so dated with it's dark brick and retro looking pedestrian plaza. It was also the first structure that broke up the flush building line up on Congress Street with the exception of the Longfellow House. Great intentions for a contemporary design when it opened in the mid seventies, but the plaza and choice of materials has not aged well!
 
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Avesta project on Cumberland Avenue:

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Another view of the Hyatt:

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Agreed. I'm loving the giant windows and granite.

Any word yet on an official tenant for the restaurant? I know there were rumors floating around about it potentially being a Legal Seafoods, but I haven't heard anything recently.
 
Portlander said:
He purchased 2MS a few years ago with thought of making some exterior improvements to the structure and we are still waiting. I personally told him that due to it's basically flat roofline, it would be a perfect opportunity to add 3-5 floors to the building in a step-back design with an attractive ornamental cap. He thought it was a great idea, but the only improvement I have seen is the new signage on the Congress Street garage entrance.

markhb, I agree that it is not one of Portland's most attractive high rises but I think it now fits better visually since One Monument Square was re-clad with a new exterior. Previously, the two 10 story buildings looked too much alike due to the similar choice in brick tones/materials which was intentional during the design process. Now they at least look like two totally separate towers which I think adds a little more contrast to the skyline. Did you know that 1MS was originally planned as a 20 story tower in 1967? Was going to have banking/retail on the street level, four levels of parking and the remaining 16 floors for office use.

The high rise in Portland that looks the worst and should be on the top of the list for major exterior renovations in my opinion is 511 Congress Street. Completed in 1975, the 10 floor complex looks so dated with it's dark brick and retro looking pedestrian plaza. It was also the first structure that broke up the flush building line up on Congress Street with the exception of the Longfellow House. Great intentions for a contemporary design when it opened in the mid seventies, but the plaza and choice of materials has not aged well!
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It would be great to see the tower of 511 refaced, and the pedestrian plaza and lower-level buildings lining it replaced with something 3-5 stories high to match the rest of the buildings on that stretch of Congress. Could turn the building into something very nice. The lower-level buildings at the front of 511 are their own form of hideous, but as far as the towers are concerned, I find 2 Monument Square significantly uglier--the glass flush with the brick facade is particularly bad.
 
Portlander said:
The high rise in Portland that looks the worst and should be on the top of the list for major exterior renovations in my opinion is 511 Congress Street. Completed in 1975, the 10 floor complex looks so dated with it's dark brick and retro looking pedestrian plaza. It was also the first structure that broke up the flush building line up on Congress Street with the exception of the Longfellow House. Great intentions for a contemporary design when it opened in the mid seventies, but the plaza and choice of materials has not aged well!
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I actually am rather fond of 511 Congress —*at least the tower portion. If I recall correctly the architect of record was Pietro Belluschi, a celebrated modernist architect from the other Portland. I agree with you, though, that the plaza hasn't been a success and would benefit from substantial renovation and additions to restore more of the Congress Street street wall.

Another modernist building I really like is the larger Canal Plaza building — the one set back from Middle Street.

1 Monument Square, though – that building's a turd, and in absolutely the worst, most prominent position in our downtown. It looks like a goddamn North Korean Ministry of Truth.
 
Actually, all three structures that make up Canal Plaza have aged well and I was thinking how attractive the grouping looked this morning on my way to Exchange Street. There are 20 floors of office space in the plaza and it's a tough call on whether I like the 3 separate buildings to accomplish that number or would I prefer a single 20 story tower?

One Monument Square looks much improved since it's exterior renovations and I like the granite touches along with the building name that is nicely lit at night. Just wish it was taller!
 
Someone mentioned the flush windows in Two MS; I think the issue is a combination of that, and that the window-to-brick ratio in the building seems relatively low. The net effect is a lot of walls with too-few windows, or as I said, a prison block.

One Monument Square, to me, looks far better with its new cladding than it did before, and I didn't really mind it before as the vertically-striped window sections broke up the brick prisms.

As someone who grew up in Portland in the 70's, I've always liked 511 as "the black one", going back to when I had my first savings account (descended from my school banking account) at Maine Savings Bank branch 01. And again as a child of the 70's, I also don't mind the black-and-white plaza; it makes me nostalgic for Bookland and Deering Ice Cream. ISTR that, back in the days when Maine Savings was headquartered there, the plaza got a lot of use, at least at lunchtime.

Maybe we need a new "Portland: Existing Architecture" thread, to keep us from taking this one too far off-topic?
 
markhb, a positive note for 2MS in my opinion is the use of the tan colored brick which is a nice change up from the numerous red brick structures downtown and it's profile on the Federal Street side is an improvement design wise from the Congress Street view. The Planning Board should have never allowed the developer to place the garage entrance on Congress Street.

Of course the exteriors of the Time & Temp, Peoples United Bank, Masonic, City Hall and the Courthouse complex give Portland a classic and substantial feel and will always be my favorites. What is your take on the overall design and appearance of 511 Congress?
 
Maine Wharf progress:

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Ferry terminal expansion is coming along as well:

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