Portland, ME - New Construction Continued

If they could build a bridge across the Stroudwater River and connect to Hutchins Drive, it would be the absolute ideal spot for an Amazon-type warehouse. Plenty of land, abutters are a farm and the Turnpike, direct access to the Turnpike, direct access to the Jetport, access to points west via Rt 22>Rt 202, and relatively easy access to I-295 via Western Ave.

If all truck traffic was directed via Hutchins, that would also ease any traffic concerns from residents along Stroudwater/Westbrook Street.
 
Interesting find.

There's been lots of talk about an Amazon warehouse to serve the Portland market:
https://www.pressherald.com/2022/08...arborough-amazon-is-scouting-for-a-warehouse/

But the Scarborough sites may be contingent on the Turnpike's "Gorham Spur" proposal, the costs of which – rumor has it – are coming in way over budget, and far beyond the Turnpike Authority's ability to finance the project with its existing bonding capacity. So Amazon may well be looking for sites that don't rely on a new highway spur.
 
Dr. StrangeHat said:
That's is indeed Portland. Westbrook's line is right after Randall's Farm.
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Thanks! One other constituency that may raise their voice: Portland Trails and their users, since the Stroudwater Trail runs along the other side of the river through that area. Also, the stretch of trail in that area is closed in winter to protect deer wintering habitat; I have to wonder if the other side of the river (this site) is also a deer yard.
 
A distribution center of Amazon's scale would almost certainly insist on improved highway access... Depending on the size and scope of the potential development...I wonder if there's been any serious proposal to extend Larabee Rd. and connect to Stroudwater St.

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Cosakita18 said:
A distribution center of Amazon's scale would almost certainly insist on improved highway access... Depending on the size and scope of the potential development...I wonder if there's been any serious proposal to extend Larabee Rd. and connect to Stroudwater St.

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From what I hear, the owner of that farmland has refused every single offer to sell over the years.
 
PWMFlyer said:
Part of that farmland that abuts the Westbrook arterial was bought from Jason Synder. 10 years ago, there was a plan to develop a shopping center which never formalized.
Mortgage lender buys Westbrook land previously destined for mall - Portland Press Herald
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Yup. This tree line is what divides Snyder's former property from Randall's farm property. JB Brown & Sons actually owns it now. They bought it from Kimco in 2014: https://gis.vgsi.com/WestbrookME/Parcel.aspx?pid=5642

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PWMFlyer said:
I knew at one time, there was plans for a bypass from stroudwater to the turnpike and to Gorham when the s turns were still in place.
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The Westbrook Arterial. The plan was to build it from I-295 at Libbytown (the pre-built ramps were eventually used for the connection to Fore River Parkway), vaguely parallel to the railroad tracks with an interchange at Congress, ting into what was eventually built at the end of Rand Road. I don't know how far the plans got beyond what is now Alfred Plourde Drive, but overall the plan was killed in the 70's. The old S-curves were going to be an on ramp.
 
An interesting update for a high-visibility parcel that's been on the market for a while...

The owners of 129 Fox St (The VIP Charter Bus lot at the corner of Fox and Franklin) have submitted a Map Amendment request to rezone the parcel from light industrial (IL-B) to B7 (mixed use-office) . The amendment request reads:

" At this time, there is no proposal for redeveloment or changing the use of the property. Instead, this amendment is sought to facilitate the marketing of the property, as interested parties have indicated that they would want to reuse the property in a manner that would fit within B-7 zoning."

For reference, the B7 zone covers most of central & west Bayside and allows for a fairly wide array of uses.
link:
ZN-002242-2022 (portlandmaine.gov)
 
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Speaking of potential property redevelopment, the longtime 7-11 on Congress Street just west of State is all boarded up. Someone on Reddit said that the national corporate office had determined this location was not living up to "7-11 standards" (who knew they had any?) and they'd revoked the franchise license.

This would seem to be a ripe parcel for residential redevelopment. I'm sure there would be some extra costs related to remediating the gas station remnants, but there aren't many locations more prime for residential development than this one.
 
Cosakita18 said:
An interesting update for a high-visibility parcel that's been on the market for a while...

The owners of 129 Fox St (The VIP Charter Bus lot at the corner of Fox and Franklin) have submitted a Map Amendment request to rezone the parcel from light industrial (IL-B) to B7 (mixed use-office) . The amendment request reads:

" At this time, there is no proposal for redeveloment or changing the use of the property. Instead, this amendment is sought to facilitate the marketing of the property, as interested parties have indicated that they would want to reuse the property in a manner that would fit within B-7 zoning."

For reference, the B7 zone covers most of central & west Bayside and allows for a fairly wide array of uses.
link:
ZN-002242-2022 (portlandmaine.gov)
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Seeking zoning change to aid in the potential future sale or redevelopment of the property? Does that mean the bus company would relocate?

Redfern should buy the 7-11 parcel and build another Hiawatha there!!
 
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True fact: when my father first moved to Portland, he lived in an apartment that stood where that 7/11 is now. And with that closed, that leaves pretty much the West End Cumby's as the only gas station near the top of the slope between Bramhall Square and Franklin, I believe.
 
Construction geeks, please tell me how a cinder block foundation on a hill is sound? Is it reinforced somehow to prevent lateral shift? In CA earthquake land this would fall over with the first 6.0. And you can't say Maine will never have an earthquake, because never say never, unless it's regarding death and taxes.
 
TC_zoid said:
Construction geeks, please tell me how a cinder block foundation on a hill is sound? Is it reinforced somehow to prevent lateral shift? In CA earthquake land this would fall over with the first 6.0. And you can't say Maine will never have an earthquake, because never say never, unless it's regarding death and taxes.
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I couldn't find the actual building plans on the city website, but this documentation of a neighborhood meeting for this project notes "grid reinforcing."

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That was goo
Corey said:
I couldn't find the actual building plans on the city website, but this documentation of a neighborhood meeting for this project notes "grid reinforcing."

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That was a good find. Thanks. I now remember seeing rebar inserted within the blocks for lateral and vertical positioning to keep the whole thing solid. I drove past the site early-on and didn't see pilings being driven down though, so I think this all somewhat sits on the hill as one big piece. Ever wonder why so many hi-rises rise in Manhattan? Bedrock. It goes way down too. I watched the foundations being laid for some of the Hudson Yards skyscrapers and they were driving pilings into a massive fifty-foot-deep hole with solid rock at the bottom. San Francisco has a relatively new hi-rise that tilted 3 inches last year. If it can happen to a nearly half-billion-dollar building, it can happen to a little multi-family project on a hill in Portland, Maine. I'll pass.
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/millennium-tower-san-francisco-leaning-fix/index.html#:~:text=San Francisco's 'leaning' skyscraper tilted at a rate,according to the engineer tasked with fixing it.
 
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