P
Patrick
Guest
Bayside is an eyesore in the middle of the portland peninsula and in recent years has been the focus of rejuvination efforts by the city.
City makes new push for scrap yard deal
Portland officials have resumed talks with the owner of a scrap yard that threatens to interfere with the city's revitalization plans for the Bayside neighborhood.
Alan Lerman, owner of E. Perry Iron & Metal Co. on Lancaster Street, said he still won't agree to any land deal that jeopardizes the interests of his family's business.
At the same time, the city is moving to create a development plan for six acres of former railroad land in the heart of the downtown neighborhood.
The city expects to advertise for site planning and other technical services early next week, said Jack Lufkin, Portland's economic development director.
Interested firms will have until June 19 to apply.
The city plans to sell the land, as a whole or in pieces, to developers who would build several office buildings and a parking garage along Somerset Street.
The project may eventually include surrounding properties that are privately owned, if the owners want to be part of the deal, Lufkin said.
Among those privately owned properties is E. Perry Iron & Metal, one of two scrap-metal recycling yards that city officials have been trying to move out of Bayside for several years. A report in 2000 called the yards "the single most inhibiting factor to the successful redevelopment of Bayside."
The future of Lerman's 2-acre property has grown increasingly uncertain since last fall. That's when Portland officials decided to sell 13 acres on Riverside Street to New England Metal Recycling, the other Bayside scrap yard that was targeted for relocation.
Riverside is on the city's outskirts, near the Maine Turnpike.
Lufkin said Portland officials had been negotiating to sell some of the Riverside land to Lerman, but those talks reached a stalemate by the time New England Metal agreed to buy all 13 acres.
"We're back discussing relocation options for E. Perry," Lufkin said Tuesday.
Lufkin said those options include the remaining 20 acres of developable land on Riverside Street and E. Perry's secondary location in Scarborough.
If Lerman decides to sell his Bayside property on his own, the city will still offer federal money to help pay for the move, Lufkin said.
Lerman said the city's last offer wasn't enough.
"We're not just talking real estate here," Lerman said. "We're talking about a business."
Portland officials would like to avoid taking Lerman's land by eminent domain, which remains a possibility, Lufkin said.
"If we hit a wall with E. Perry, the result may be a decline in property values in Bayside, including E. Perry," Lufkin said.
Portland recently acquired 53 acres on Riverside Street in a $5 million deal financed through The Trust for Public Land.
New England Metal agreed to pay $1.5 million for its 13 acres. In return, the city will use federal grants and loans to pay $645,000 for the company's 1-acre scrap yard on Somerset Street in Bayside and provide $1 million to cover New England Metal's relocation costs.
The city plans to use most of the remaining 20 acres of developable land on Riverside to move its public works garages out of Bayside.
City makes new push for scrap yard deal
Portland officials have resumed talks with the owner of a scrap yard that threatens to interfere with the city's revitalization plans for the Bayside neighborhood.
Alan Lerman, owner of E. Perry Iron & Metal Co. on Lancaster Street, said he still won't agree to any land deal that jeopardizes the interests of his family's business.
At the same time, the city is moving to create a development plan for six acres of former railroad land in the heart of the downtown neighborhood.
The city expects to advertise for site planning and other technical services early next week, said Jack Lufkin, Portland's economic development director.
Interested firms will have until June 19 to apply.
The city plans to sell the land, as a whole or in pieces, to developers who would build several office buildings and a parking garage along Somerset Street.
The project may eventually include surrounding properties that are privately owned, if the owners want to be part of the deal, Lufkin said.
Among those privately owned properties is E. Perry Iron & Metal, one of two scrap-metal recycling yards that city officials have been trying to move out of Bayside for several years. A report in 2000 called the yards "the single most inhibiting factor to the successful redevelopment of Bayside."
The future of Lerman's 2-acre property has grown increasingly uncertain since last fall. That's when Portland officials decided to sell 13 acres on Riverside Street to New England Metal Recycling, the other Bayside scrap yard that was targeted for relocation.
Riverside is on the city's outskirts, near the Maine Turnpike.
Lufkin said Portland officials had been negotiating to sell some of the Riverside land to Lerman, but those talks reached a stalemate by the time New England Metal agreed to buy all 13 acres.
"We're back discussing relocation options for E. Perry," Lufkin said Tuesday.
Lufkin said those options include the remaining 20 acres of developable land on Riverside Street and E. Perry's secondary location in Scarborough.
If Lerman decides to sell his Bayside property on his own, the city will still offer federal money to help pay for the move, Lufkin said.
Lerman said the city's last offer wasn't enough.
"We're not just talking real estate here," Lerman said. "We're talking about a business."
Portland officials would like to avoid taking Lerman's land by eminent domain, which remains a possibility, Lufkin said.
"If we hit a wall with E. Perry, the result may be a decline in property values in Bayside, including E. Perry," Lufkin said.
Portland recently acquired 53 acres on Riverside Street in a $5 million deal financed through The Trust for Public Land.
New England Metal agreed to pay $1.5 million for its 13 acres. In return, the city will use federal grants and loans to pay $645,000 for the company's 1-acre scrap yard on Somerset Street in Bayside and provide $1 million to cover New England Metal's relocation costs.
The city plans to use most of the remaining 20 acres of developable land on Riverside to move its public works garages out of Bayside.