1.)
Riverwalk: Parking garage due to rise; luxury condos to follow
2.)
Westin: Developer seeks time for revision before construction
1. Portland's effort to develop a new neighborhood on its eastern waterfront will show signs of progress in December.
That's when construction of a 719-space parking garage is scheduled to start at Fore and Hancock streets as part of the $100 million Riverwalk project.
The project includes The Longfellow at Ocean Gateway, a 116-unit luxury condominium complex with 80 underground parking spaces. Construction of that phase of the project is expected to start in the spring, lead developers Drew Swenson and Fred Forsley said Thursday.
Riverwalk LLC is moving forward after forming a financial partnership with Intercontinental Real Estate Corp., a Boston-based asset management and real estate development company. Intercontinental has built several residential and commercial projects in Boston, Providence, R.I., and New Haven, Conn., said Nicholas Iselin, the company's development and construction director.
"Portland is just a logical extension of our strategy to build in New England," Iselin said. "Portland is a destination for many different people for many different reasons."
Swenson and Forsley's announcement is the latest advance in a five-year effort by Portland officials to foster redevelopment of a patchwork of older commercial buildings and parking lots at Commercial and India streets.
The four-acre, two-block project includes an acre of former city land at the planned extensions of Commercial and Hancock streets.
The City Council agreed to sell the land to Riverwalk for $885,000 last year after seeking proposals to build a parking garage near the Ocean Gateway cruise-ship terminal, which is under construction at Commercial Street and Franklin Arterial.
The deal included a special zoning contract, a $5 million property tax break over 13 years and a requirement that construction of the parking garage start by this December, said Jack Lufkin, Portland's economic development director. The city started rezoning the area to promote commercial and residential redevelopment in 2001.
"We're building out two entirely new city blocks with this project," Lufkin said.
The condominium complex is named after Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the poet who was born near Fore and Hancock streets. The sprawling brick, metal and glass building would be connected to the historic Grand Trunk Railroad building at India and Commercial streets.
Other features of the project include retail space, a five-story office building at India and Fore streets and a 40-unit, market-rate apartment building to be built later at Hancock and Middle streets.
Building trade unions are investing pension funds in the project, Iselin said, and Intercontinental plans to hire union workers whenever possible.
Other Riverwalk partners are Alexander Spaulding, former president of Hinckley Yachts, and Stephen Brackett of Ironside Capital in Framingham, Mass.
Forsley, who owns the nearby Shipyard Brewing Co., contributed land to the project. Riverwalk also purchased the Breakaway Tavern at 35 India St., which will hold a closing party Sunday night.
"I bought the building knowing this might happen," said tavern owner James Gilbert, who said he did "quite well" in selling the bar.
Iselin said his company expects to market the project to people who are downsizing from larger homes but still want luxury amenities. Although the real estate market has cooled lately, the developers believe The Longfellow will be successful because it will fill a niche in Portland.
"There's nothing like it in the market," Forsley said.
Staff Writer Kelley Bouchard can be reached at 791-6328 or at:
kbouchard@pressherald.com
Reader comments
Kevin Donoghue, Candidate for City Council: District One of PTLD, ME
Oct 6, 2006 12:10 PM
Lesley asked: "Why is all the new housing construction in Portland "luxury?" needs an explanation: Inaction by our City Council.
Our zoning ordinances are such that they encourage excessive parking and discourage small units so as to make at hard to make money on a normal project, UNLESS it is one that it is marketing to the very wealthy, who want the excessive parking and the larger units. Our zoning ordinances are biases against affordable housing. Not in a generation has a rental building been built without public subsidy. Exclusive land use reles are a reason.
The financial incentives for the city favor inaction on our luxury housing imbalance. Because a large number of these new units will not be primary residences, they will not be subject to the Homestead Exemption and therefore will pay taxes on their full values. Because many of these units will be occupied only part-time or by childless couples, they will add few children to the school system and much to the tax base - further incentive for inaction on affordable housing for working families - at a time when the official orthodoxy is to close down our schools.
In terms of tax base, we have every incentive to suffer the status quo, which hurts many of us.
If we really want to export our tax burden to the jet-and-yacht set, we should raise our tourism taxes, not have the rest of us (I rent) subsidize the more fortunate who have been able to buy in.
If we want to make sure that we have affordable housing, we can encourage it by reforming our zoning and require it by an inclusionary zoning ordinance, which could make a percentage of units in new condo developments or subdivisions be permenantly affordable to our working families.
Portland is doing enough to preserve Portlanders.
joe of portland, me
Oct 6, 2006 11:25 AM
great...who is going to buy all these units? how does this tie in to the ocean gate terminal?
why can they sell their units, yet the westin could get no pre-sales?
Sloan of Portland, ME
Oct 6, 2006 10:22 AM
Portland has fallen into the trap of becoming yet another city where all residences will be essentially gated or ghetto [i.e., subsidized]. This is destroying what made Portland attractive--that it was a city with diversity, more organic than artificial construct--which is what it's rapidly becoming.
Reg of Bangor, ME
Oct 6, 2006 9:57 AM
So the Portland City Council is squarely behind luxury housing that most can't afford but is squarely against opening a great restaurant (Hooters) that most people like and would patronize.
Just so I am clear....
2. Plans to build a Westin hotel/condominium complex in Portland are being put on hold, the project's developer said Thursday.
A spokesman for the Rhode Island company leading the development, The Procaccianti Group, confirmed that it's asking city officials for a one-year extension of its site plan approval. That would give developers time to reconsider the size and tenant mix of the venture, said Ralph Izzi, Procaccianti's communications director.
The initial project was valued at $110 million. It called for a 223-room hotel with 97 luxury condominiums, 20,000 square feet of retail space and underground parking at the shuttered Jordan Meats plant, a site bounded by Franklin , Fore, India and Middle streets. Groundbreaking was anticipated this past summer.
Now Procaccianti is looking to add office space to the mix, Izzi said, and is likely to scale back the overall size of the development. In the meantime, the company plans to demolish the old factory and create a parking lot. That could happen by this winter, Izzi said.
Procaccianti's decision to shift gears wasn't unexpected. As the real estate market began cooling earlier this year, speculation increased that the developer was having trouble selling all the condominium units, at asking prices ranging from $550,000 to more than $1 million.
In August, the firm sent out a press release saying it would scale down the number of residential units. In an interview at the time, Tom Niles, Procaccianti's executive vice president for development, said the change also would reduce the number of hotel rooms.
The Westin project has been closely watched because it's considered a key part of the redevelopment of Portland's eastern waterfront. The development is expected to complement the city's nearby Ocean Gateway cruise ship and ferry terminal, which is under construction.
Other privately funded projects also could add hotel rooms, condos, parking and office space to the area.
Riverwalk LLC is set to break ground in December on a $100 million project at Commercial Street and Franklin Arterial that includes a 719-space parking garage and a 116-unit luxury condominium complex. The Village at Ocean Gate LLC is seeking special zoning from the City Council next week for 176 residential condos on Middle, Newbury and Hancock streets. That project is expected to top $45 million.
Thursday's announcement by Procaccianti contrasts sharply with expectations 10 months ago.
Last December, invited guests sipped champagne and nibbled caviar at a private cocktail reception in Portland to introduce the project. Michael Liberty, principal in the South Portland-based Liberty Cos. and a partner in the venture, mingled with southern Maine's real estate and business elite. He expressed confidence that all the condominiums would be under contract within a month.
Liberty couldn't be reached for comment Thursday.
Procaccianti made its intentions known to Portland officials on Wednesday when it sent a representative to meet with the City Hall planning staff.
Lee Urban, Portland's planning and development director, said ordinances allow for an automatic, one-year extension for site plans.
"It was a positive meeting," Urban said. "The clear statement was that they wanted to go forward, but they just needed to pause, in light of the current real estate market."
Izzi said Procaccianti is committed to developing a project in the city, adding that it will be costly to demolish the Jordan Meats building and create parking.
"That demonstrates our commitment to the site," he said.
Izzi also refuted speculation that the company has been unable to line up lenders to back the project. "Financing has never been an issue," he said.
With the project on hold, the company has stopped marketing the condominiums, called The Residences at the Westin Portland. It also has removed the project from its Web site and refunded deposits to hopeful buyers, Izzi said.
Staff Writer Tux Turkel can be contacted at 791-6462 or at:
tturkel@pressherald.com
Reader comments
sd of portland, me
Oct 6, 2006 11:30 AM
ummm huh? with all do respect lee...are you kidding me that this is positive...there is no way they will spend money on making a parking lot? there is also no way it takes a year to figure out what you want to build...it is simply a way of not taking this project back through the public process...this project is not going to happen...at least this company is smart enough to realize that...they should build a bunch of retail and office spaces and call it a day
LB of Portland, ME
Oct 6, 2006 9:36 AM
The original concept looked great. Too bad the "Procrastinati Group" has no follow-through.