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Patrick
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yeah that souns nice. to bad you ahve to drive to get there from here though. Where is there a new one opening on Forest Ave? That will bring the total in Portland to 4 I think, right?
grittys457
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It's across from the top of Read street, sorta. Right across from that Papa John's and other asian place. It will be our first drive-thru Starbucks.
Just throwing this out there. Do you think the Westin pulled out because it was thinking Ocean Properties had a no brainer win for the pier. Ocean Properties has done many Westins. Hmmmmm
Just throwing this out there. Do you think the Westin pulled out because it was thinking Ocean Properties had a no brainer win for the pier. Ocean Properties has done many Westins. Hmmmmm
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Patrick
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well, thats a tough one. Would I want to dump 110 million into "the best building maine has ever seen" if I knew that an even better (and cheaper to construct) building would be built a year later and closer to the water (the very reasno the westin was interested in that area)?v To me, it is obvious. Im not sure, i think i would have liked the westin more than this current proposal.
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Patrick
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has anyone seen the new mercy hospital frame going up? it looks a lot bigger than I thought it would.
portlandneedsnewarena
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Very nice rendering of the new Mercy Hospital on the Architect's website; www.franciscauffman.com PROJECTSPatrick said:
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Patrick
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I might have to get out and take some pictures of this hospital...It is really going up fast and looking a lot nicer than I thought it would. From the interstate connection over veterans memorial intersection the building looks slender, almost like an office tower, and the frame is all toped out now. I drive by it on my way to work every morning.
portlandneedsnewarena
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A real good view/angle to take a photo (steel structure) from is the large parking lot in back of Margaritas Rest. (Saint John Street) & Goodwill. I was down there at noon and it was fairly impressive. It looks much different/taller down there than from I-295.Patrick said:
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Patrick
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I know where you are talking about, I have seen it from that angle. it sort of creeps up from the brush in that area. My fave perspective is coming down the connector road toward congress from the waterfront, it looks tallest that way because the foundation adds another story compared to the backside. it is also sleekest from that view, in my opinion.
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Patrick
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haha kind of funny story here...but not really...
so I was on my way to work over the veteran's bridge, going south, and I turned to look over my shoulder to see the new frame of the hospital, and i smaked into the curb and went over it at like 35 miles an hour and now I have two missing hub caps. man I need a new hobby.
so I was on my way to work over the veteran's bridge, going south, and I turned to look over my shoulder to see the new frame of the hospital, and i smaked into the curb and went over it at like 35 miles an hour and now I have two missing hub caps. man I need a new hobby.
portlandneedsnewarena
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Patrick, have you ever checked out www.skyscrapercity.com RATE OUR TALLS, SKYLINES, Portland, ME is on page 15. Kind of neat and some ok photos!Patrick said:
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Patrick
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No I have never checked that site out, so thanks for posting the link. Unfortunately access to it is restricted from my work computer (where I currently am). So it will have to wait until later.
Also, I just noticed you are from scarborough...how is the scarborough gallery coming along? I heard there were supposed to be about 500,000 sf of new retail over there.
Also, I just noticed you are from scarborough...how is the scarborough gallery coming along? I heard there were supposed to be about 500,000 sf of new retail over there.
Yeah the Gateway at Scarborough has been unanimously approved by the planning board! According to the local paper it will include 438,000 sq. feet of retail/commercial/office space with a 200 room hotel and will also contain that Cabela's store which we've been hearing about for a while. The article also mentions that the first businesses are to be opened in May of next year.
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Patrick
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thats ok man, I'll take any info I can get my hands on, thanks for sharing. The only news I have heard about the gateway project is an aerial map sketch on the city's plannning website, and a brief blurb paragraph. Scarborough gallery should be nice, as long as it is not too heavily focussed on the new wal mart and lowes...I don t want it to be like a biddeford crossing, I think it should be like another mall. hopefully. Scarborugh is growing very fast it seems.
Look for enw construction update photos by the end of today or tomorrow, I am going out and about today, and Im bringing my camera and lots of batteries.
Look for enw construction update photos by the end of today or tomorrow, I am going out and about today, and Im bringing my camera and lots of batteries.
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Patrick
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portlandneedsnewarena
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Cabela's (they hope) will be open May 2008. They started surveying last week.S-Roll said:
The Super Wal Mart / Lowes project are at a standstill due to ground/soil problems that they need to address.
portlandneedsnewarena
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Check out www.scarboroughgateway.com Some real nice drawings, etc. of the whole Cabela's project.portlandneedsnewarena said:
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Patrick
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thanks for that link. heres another one from that site: http://www.scarboroughgateway.com/resource/downloads/flyer2.pdf
35,000 people a day expected to visit the new store in the first ten days.
35,000 people a day expected to visit the new store in the first ten days.
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Patrick
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Senate President: Northern rail expansion will spur economy
By Bryn Keating (published: March 22, 2007)
FREEPORT ? While cruise ship passengers can easily spend a day walking around Portland?s Old Port, Maine can be an unfriendly place for visitors with broad itineraries and no vehicles.
But tourists would be able to visit the state?s coastal sites ? as well as the L.L. Bean flagship store, Bowdoin College?s campus and Rockland?s annual lobster festival ? via rail, if the Legislature and voters OK a bond proposed by state Senate President Beth Edmonds.
The $40 million bond, announced at a press conference March 16, would provide the infrastructure necessary to extend Amtrak?s Downeaster, which currently operates between Boston and Portland. The extended 50-minute service would run from the Portland Transportation Center to Brunswick with a stop in Freeport.
?This safe, efficient, clean form of transportation promotes sustainable growth and encourages our quality places to thrive and it should not be a service only available to those who live in Portland and Southern Maine,? Edmonds, a Freeport Democrat, said in a prepared statement.
The bond bill would provide $39 million to the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA) for capital infrastructure improvements on the existing tracks that run from Portland to Brunswick. An additional $1 million would be allocated to the Maine Department of Transportation for capital rail improvements for possible links from Brunswick to Augusta or Lewiston.
While future links to the inland cities may one day accommodate passengers, Edmonds said those lines could ?certainly? be used by freight trains.
Once in Brunswick, passengers would have the choice to board the Maine Eastern Railroad, which already runs trains between Brunswick and Rockland. Gordon Fuller, director of passenger operations for Maine Eastern, said his service is already expecting a 25 percent increase in passengers in 2007.
?Freeport and Brunswick could be the springboard for economic development throughout Mid-Coast Maine, on up to Rockland,? Rep. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, said.
Freeport Town Councilor Genie Beaulieu lauded the proposed bill as bringing tourism, jobs and economic possibilities to towns north of Portland. The rail service may also attract foreign tourists, she said, who do not have a vehicle and are used to public transportation.
NNEPRA reported in December on two possible routes for extending the Downeaster. The alignment supported by Edmonds? bond proposal, would include two daily round trips from Boston to Brunswick, with station platforms in Freeport and Brunswick. NNEPRA estimated that plan would cost $31.5 million.
Edmonds last week said she was requesting an additional $7.5 million for unforeseen and inflated costs.
But Edmonds? proposal would not support commuter rail between Portland and points north. In the December report, NNEPRA also included estimates for an alternative route running along Interstate 295 that would open the possibility of commuter stops in Brunswick, Freeport, Yarmouth, Falmouth and the Bayside neighborhood of Portland.
The proposed I-295 alignment would require a new trestle across Back Cove in Portland to connect with existing St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway track to Yarmouth. From Yarmouth, the train would run on the lines to Brunswick.
NNEPRA estimated extending the Downeaster along I-295 with the additional commuter service would cost $61 million.
Edmonds said she was supporting the so-called Pan Am alignment because it will be quicker to implement than the costly I-295 plan.
NNEPRA Executive Director Patricia G. Quinn said last week that Edmonds? proposed bond, if passed, would not preclude future research into development of an I-295 corridor rail service. ?That?s a very important corridor to develop,? she said, adding that Edmonds? bond is a great first step in extending rail service northward.
If Edmonds? bond gains legislative and voter approval, Quinn estimated that extended the Downeaster would take two to three years for planning, ordering materials and completing construction.
Gov. John Baldacci Monday announced his $397 million, three-year bond package, which included $131 million for transportation infrastructure improvements and $17 million for passenger and freight rail system improvements specifically.
David Farmer, Baldacci?s director of communications, said Monday that the governor?s package mirrors some of Edmonds? comprehensive proposal, while balancing passenger and freight rail needs.
A portion of the $17 million investment is earmarked for adding a fifth daily Downeaster train between Portland and Boston, Farmer said, while funds for studying an inter-city rail network northward of Portland toward Auburn and Brunswick are also provided.
The governor?s bond package also allocates $750,000 for improvements to the Maine Eastern Railroad track used for freight and tourism between Brunswick and Rockland, Farmer said.
?(The Governor?s) proposal is a good model for prioritizing our bonds,? Edmonds said in a statement released Monday.
Bonds require a two-thirds majority approval by the Legislature to be placed on a ballot for voters? approval. Edmonds? bond could be included in a legislative proposal, expected to be worked on next week by the Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations.
Bryn Keating can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 115 or bkeating@theforecaster.net.
By Bryn Keating (published: March 22, 2007)
FREEPORT ? While cruise ship passengers can easily spend a day walking around Portland?s Old Port, Maine can be an unfriendly place for visitors with broad itineraries and no vehicles.
But tourists would be able to visit the state?s coastal sites ? as well as the L.L. Bean flagship store, Bowdoin College?s campus and Rockland?s annual lobster festival ? via rail, if the Legislature and voters OK a bond proposed by state Senate President Beth Edmonds.
The $40 million bond, announced at a press conference March 16, would provide the infrastructure necessary to extend Amtrak?s Downeaster, which currently operates between Boston and Portland. The extended 50-minute service would run from the Portland Transportation Center to Brunswick with a stop in Freeport.
?This safe, efficient, clean form of transportation promotes sustainable growth and encourages our quality places to thrive and it should not be a service only available to those who live in Portland and Southern Maine,? Edmonds, a Freeport Democrat, said in a prepared statement.
The bond bill would provide $39 million to the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA) for capital infrastructure improvements on the existing tracks that run from Portland to Brunswick. An additional $1 million would be allocated to the Maine Department of Transportation for capital rail improvements for possible links from Brunswick to Augusta or Lewiston.
While future links to the inland cities may one day accommodate passengers, Edmonds said those lines could ?certainly? be used by freight trains.
Once in Brunswick, passengers would have the choice to board the Maine Eastern Railroad, which already runs trains between Brunswick and Rockland. Gordon Fuller, director of passenger operations for Maine Eastern, said his service is already expecting a 25 percent increase in passengers in 2007.
?Freeport and Brunswick could be the springboard for economic development throughout Mid-Coast Maine, on up to Rockland,? Rep. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, said.
Freeport Town Councilor Genie Beaulieu lauded the proposed bill as bringing tourism, jobs and economic possibilities to towns north of Portland. The rail service may also attract foreign tourists, she said, who do not have a vehicle and are used to public transportation.
NNEPRA reported in December on two possible routes for extending the Downeaster. The alignment supported by Edmonds? bond proposal, would include two daily round trips from Boston to Brunswick, with station platforms in Freeport and Brunswick. NNEPRA estimated that plan would cost $31.5 million.
Edmonds last week said she was requesting an additional $7.5 million for unforeseen and inflated costs.
But Edmonds? proposal would not support commuter rail between Portland and points north. In the December report, NNEPRA also included estimates for an alternative route running along Interstate 295 that would open the possibility of commuter stops in Brunswick, Freeport, Yarmouth, Falmouth and the Bayside neighborhood of Portland.
The proposed I-295 alignment would require a new trestle across Back Cove in Portland to connect with existing St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway track to Yarmouth. From Yarmouth, the train would run on the lines to Brunswick.
NNEPRA estimated extending the Downeaster along I-295 with the additional commuter service would cost $61 million.
Edmonds said she was supporting the so-called Pan Am alignment because it will be quicker to implement than the costly I-295 plan.
NNEPRA Executive Director Patricia G. Quinn said last week that Edmonds? proposed bond, if passed, would not preclude future research into development of an I-295 corridor rail service. ?That?s a very important corridor to develop,? she said, adding that Edmonds? bond is a great first step in extending rail service northward.
If Edmonds? bond gains legislative and voter approval, Quinn estimated that extended the Downeaster would take two to three years for planning, ordering materials and completing construction.
Gov. John Baldacci Monday announced his $397 million, three-year bond package, which included $131 million for transportation infrastructure improvements and $17 million for passenger and freight rail system improvements specifically.
David Farmer, Baldacci?s director of communications, said Monday that the governor?s package mirrors some of Edmonds? comprehensive proposal, while balancing passenger and freight rail needs.
A portion of the $17 million investment is earmarked for adding a fifth daily Downeaster train between Portland and Boston, Farmer said, while funds for studying an inter-city rail network northward of Portland toward Auburn and Brunswick are also provided.
The governor?s bond package also allocates $750,000 for improvements to the Maine Eastern Railroad track used for freight and tourism between Brunswick and Rockland, Farmer said.
?(The Governor?s) proposal is a good model for prioritizing our bonds,? Edmonds said in a statement released Monday.
Bonds require a two-thirds majority approval by the Legislature to be placed on a ballot for voters? approval. Edmonds? bond could be included in a legislative proposal, expected to be worked on next week by the Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations.
Bryn Keating can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 115 or bkeating@theforecaster.net.