Portland, ME - New Construction Continued

It's about time! Lets hope for a mixed use project with office, residential and retail that will help fill those vacant lots.
 
Fingers are crossed ^! Anyone got pics of 665 Congress going up? I've been busy as heck over here in Sanford.
 
Heard that behind the Hyatt and in front of Key Bank a 19 story hi-rise is in the planning stages. That's a tight fit of course and would replace the electrical equipment currently located there, though odd because it would eliminate the views for occupants in both buildings. Perhaps the actual location is the Portland Square parking lots as that make a lot more sense of course. Portland is in need of premium new office space downtown so not a surprise that this is coming. And 19 stories would also make sense as the provincial minded in Portland would freak out a lot more at the psychological impact of "20" versus "19" though a good strategy might be to propose a 30 story building and then knock it down to 19 after the assumed intense opposition. Then the nimbys would have no problem with a 19 story one and would feel victorious and smug.
 
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cneal said:
^ Who's your source on that rumor?
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someone in city hall in a casual conversation. I'm helping an architect/developer with a small condo bldg. soon to be built in Portland and was in the zoning office. if I get more I will post but one of those unconfirmed things, but good news is someone is planning to build something big on one of those lots.
 
Actual location for the potential tower is in the parking lot to the east of 1 Canal Plaza and it was originally envisioned as a 23 story structure at close to 250 feet in height. It's footprint would be smaller than the Key Bank building and would not contain office space. This project is separate from any speculation concerning the Portland Square parcels.
 
India Street Neighborhood from this morning:

185 Fore St.
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AC Hotel by Marriott between Thames and Fore St.
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113 Newbury St.
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62 India Street, future condos
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Luminato Condos
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The article was a good read. I hope it all goes through. I know from a friend of mine that financed the recent project on Maine wharf that building in this area can be a real headache due to all of the rules and regulations. I wish em' luck.

A bit belated, thanks again for the updates Corey!
 
Canal Plaza

I noticed an item on the agenda for the next Planning Board meeting involving Canal Plaza. I'm not sure how to read it exactly, but it sounds like they might be proposing another building and a renovation of the plaza. Anyone have any insights?



Waiver of B-3 Build to Line for a Structure Accessory to the Plaza, 0 Canal Plaza, Cow Plaza 1, LLC,Applicant. (7:45 p.m.- 8:30 p.m., estimated time). The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the applicant’s request to set an accessory building to the more than 5 feet from the street line. The Board will review the waiver pursuant to the street wall build-to line standard in the B-3 zone (14-220 (c), the Site Plan Standard of 14-526 (d), and the Portland Design Manual. The accessory building along with the renovation of the plaza is being reviewed administratively as a Level II site plan.
 
Yes the owner, besides wanting the tallest building in the state on the other side, wants to get the front plaza project going again. I heard he decided to put it off until next year but maybe he wants to start early or just get approval going since who knows what will happen
 
Thanks PortCity, sounds interesting. The Canal Plaza could certainly use a refresh and a new tall building sounds great!

On another note, driving up Franklin yesterday I noticed that construction for the Luminato Condos has started with the demolition of a couple buildings. It really made it stark the fact that Newbury used to continue westward and was just chopped right off by Franklin, as several others were.

I would love to see a big long-range project where those streets are reconnected and something is done with Franklin, either putting it underground or reducing it into a scale that makes it more of a neighborhood street than the urban freeway it is now.
 
Thanks Patrick. Some great ideas and resources on that site, though it looks like the study group has been inactive for awhile. I hope the city will keep pursuing the Franklin Street issue.

The planning board has put the documents online for the Canal Plaza proposal and alas it's just for a one-story pavilion, which I think is a proposal I've heard before. It's not clear what would occupy the pavilion, I'm assuming a coffee shop or deli or something.

http://me-portland.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/3969?fileID=16562
 
Max said:
Thanks Patrick. Some great ideas and resources on that site, though it looks like the study group has been inactive for awhile. I hope the city will keep pursuing the Franklin Street issue.

The planning board has put the documents online for the Canal Plaza proposal and alas it's just for a one-story pavilion, which I think is a proposal I've heard before. It's not clear what would occupy the pavilion, I'm assuming a coffee shop or deli or something.

http://me-portland.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/3969?fileID=16562
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I'm not a fan of that proposal.

Regarding the Franklin Street study/planning process, I believe it's still very much active but the key is funding. If you're really interested your should contact Markos Miller, who has spearheaded the effort at the grassroots level for years. You may also be interested in this article: http://www.portlandmonthly.com/pdf/Back to the Future.pdf
 
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