Portland, ME - The Existing Environment

Smuttynose said:
I was playing around on Streetview trying to figure out how the hell Portland only has 70K people when it feels like such a larger city. I would offer that it's probably the most vibrant US city under 70,000 people. What I came up with is that once you get off the peninsula, it's a pretty strongly suburban, mostly single-family density. Even the more walkable areas - Back Cove, Deering, etc. - seem more along the lines of a Reading, Mass. type environment than an urban one. Has there been discussion about upzoning some of the major corridors - Warren Street, 302, etc. - where you could have higher density multi-story housing?

I was also curious about two areas on the Peninsula that especially stick out from their surroundings. Between Marginal Way and Lancaster Street, there is a large kinda dead space with a lot of vacant parcels. What's the deal with that? Also, there's a pretty large stretch of surface parking lot between Downtown and the Old Port (in the area of Center and Spring Streets near the arena). It just seems so out of place with its surroundings. Was that part of some failed urban renewal project?
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I'd say the only thing close is Charlottesville, and it has a big university anchoring it.
 
Took a stroll around the city on 5/14. Click in to view larger. Didn't know where else to put most of these. Part 1 of 2.

IMG_1000 by David Z, on Flickr

IMG_1022 by David Z, on Flickr

IMG_1029 by David Z, on Flickr

IMG_1030 by David Z, on Flickr

IMG_1031 by David Z, on Flickr

IMG_1043 by David Z, on Flickr

IMG_1046 by David Z, on Flickr

IMG_1047 by David Z, on Flickr

IMG_1058 by David Z, on Flickr

IMG_1070 by David Z, on Flickr

IMG_1074 by David Z, on Flickr

IMG_1075 by David Z, on Flickr

IMG_1078 by David Z, on Flickr

IMG_1081 by David Z, on Flickr
 
I don't know where else to put this - the leaning green eyesore on inner Washington is for sale! I hope the garage and house are knocked down and we get another 4-5 story rental building. Also, from the Zillow ad it looks like there is actually no back wall to the garage and it functions as a gazebo? Not sure I would sit in that thing. 499k and it's yours!

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nomc said:
I don't know where else to put this - the leaning green eyesore on inner Washington is for sale! I hope the garage and house are knocked down and we get another 4-5 story rental building. Also, from the Zillow ad it looks like there is actually no back wall to the garage and it functions as a gazebo? Not sure I would sit in that thing. 499k and it's yours!
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This seems like a remarkable development opportunity and I'm surprised it wasn't scooped up off-market by a developer. I suspect it will go for well over $499k, but in any case it would seem like you could do quite well by putting a luxury condo or apartment building on this site. The west facing views out over the city are spectacular and would be very hard to obstruct with any future development. I wonder if being on a steep hill presents engineering challenges that make new construction here more expensive than it would otherwise be. Obviously it can be done, just look a few feet over to the massive base they rigged up for 218 Washington.

Just a few doors down there was a plan recently submitted to replace this dilapidated house at 180 Washington with a 3-4 story residential building. There aren't great renderings in the materials they've submitted thus far, but I guess it would be built snuggly between the two low-slung brick buildings to either side.

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Have a friend working on a complete remodel of the Top of The East rooftop bar at the Westin -- July 30th or 31st is the scheduled opening. It's going to be drastically different, and far more upscale. The lighting will be fixed too. If you remember, someone was not thinking and designed and installed lighting that reflected into the windows, thus making it highly difficult to see out of them at night. I don't think the outdoor space is planned though. Too bad, as it would have been the place to go for outdoor sunsets.
 
markhb said:
As in, it's a Phase Two, or they've shelved the idea?
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I don't know. All I know is that I've seen some pics of it in progress and it's drastically different. But no signs of an outdoor space.
 
I have been told it's been put on hold. Tied up with the City for permits and also due to the substantial material cost increases over the past year. Would have been a nice addition to the Portland roof top patio scene but it looks like it's not going to happen anytime soon.
 
That's too bad but at least the inside is getting a much needed makeover.
 
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Maine and other states are mandating (or strongly influencing the use of) heat pumps for the not-too-distant future. Good.

I so hate the oil burner in the basement. The days of the oil delivery truck and having to shovel a path in the snow to the back or side of the house will be gone forever. But then we don't get much snow now, so perhaps not an issue. The heat pump, thicker insulated exterior walls, and triple glazed windows are the path to Maine's new winter wonderland. Add a small and contemporary designed wood stove, and power worries in the winter will be a thing of the past. Kaplan Thompson designs all of its new homes this way. They build the best homes in Maine now. Check out "Ledge's Edge" on their website.

https://www.pressherald.com/2024/02...-agreement-to-boost-production-of-heat-pumps/

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So happy to see this. A thriving city is usually a result from its post-secondary educational offerings. Look at Boston--MIT and Harvard. I was in Austin, TX last week and stayed for one night at at the fancy and hip Otis Hotel, of which adjoins the University of Texas, Austin campus. Wow. This area is impressive. I guess Tesla and Apple are helping it grow to even more prominence. Portland desperately needs the new Roux build (and even bigger) and a beefier USM. The grad school in the Old Port is now talking about some "world class offerings". Nice.

https://www.mainebiz.biz/article/um...port-plans-to-expand-next-door-doubling-space

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I have two problems here. One, why do so many red bricks in Portland have white unsightly residue (road salt stains, I guess) on them? I get it for the sidewalks, but on the sides of buildings? Has anyone ever heard of power washing here? And second, I hate that white fireproofing spray coating on the inside of building ceilings. It feels and looks unfinished. Paint it black like every Starbucks in the entire nation does. It looks much better. I never see things like this in Boston.

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As I recall from when it adorned the front of the PMA for years, the white on the bricks is actually a natural process related to the bricks or the mortar curing in the sunlight. I'm sure someone here can explain it more precisely.
 
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