Thompson's Point, Portland

has "the city" lost its collective mind? Bayside is an infinitely higher priority--or should be--than Thompson's Point. Why is the move of Public Works not moving forward? Remaining in Bayside will continue that blight on the neighborhood. Also, while it is good to hear that the TP site might become some sort of intermodal point of connection, wasn't the PTC just built? How can we seriously say PTC and redevelopment in the same sentence? Let's start building places people care about, not buildings that can be knocked down when convenient. What a waste.
 
From Munjoy Hill News. Those guys seem to be ahead of all the other mags and blogs as far as news goes.

MaineDOT Holds Public Hearing on Railroad Crossing at Thompson’s Point Development

By Carol McCracken (Post # 1,090)

A significant piece of the overall project called the Forefront may have slipped into place last night when the State’s Department of Transportation held a public hearing at city hall on the private railroad crossing on Sewall Street at the entrance to the redevelopment. Attorney Richard N. Hewes, was the hearing officer for MaineDOT, Augusta. Mr. Hewes was prepared to hear testimony on all sides of the issue, but no one opposed to the Forefront testified.

On September 7, 2011 Danielle P. West-Chuhta, associate corporate counsel for Portland, wrote to Mr. Hewes on behalf of the city, applying for the railroad crossing to be changed from a private crossing to a public crossing for the development of The Forefront, a major sports and entertainment facility proposed for Thompson’s Point. The letter specified that the developer of the Forefront at Thompson’s Ppoint will be responsible for the costs associated with the installation of protection devices at the rail crossing.

Steve Bushey, a civil engineer on the project, with Deluca Hoffman, testified that TEC Associates, South Portland, have been responsible for designing a new plan for the railroad crossing. Randy Pike, TEC, there will be three lanes of traffic entering and exiting the Forefront. One of those three lanes will be reversible. It will be used at peak traffic times to alleviate the rush hour. There will be two new cantilever signals with lights over each lane and a warning bell. Furthermore, there will be pavenment markings, railroad advance warning disks and fencing surrounding the area.

The Portland Fire Department as well as the Departmen of Public Services reported to the city that access to the proposed Forefront meets its criteria. Nathan Moulton, director, rail program for MaineDOT said the proposed railroad grade crossing meets everyone’s criteria. “We’ve never worked with a reversible lane, but this is the best design considering all factors involved.” The owner of the rail lines is PanAm, and a representative of the company said it has no issues about safety of the tracks presented by this proposal.

It is expected that connstruction will begin this summer and finish in 2013. Construction should cost between $500,000. to $600,000.
 
^Thanks for sharing. Carol @ Munjoy Hill News is a great asset to the city. A lot of these local stories do get missed by the PPH, Forecaster, Daily Sun, etc. The creation of a third traffic lane that can be reversible seems like a good idea here. I believe this railroad crossing is just used by the Downeaster currently. I will have to get down there and get more "before" pictures before they start construction. Looking forward to seeing the progress.
 
Channel 6 will be doing a feature story tonight on Thompson's point project and where they are in the process. Set your dvr's if you're not gonna be at home.
 
I think the Red Claws were going to open the arena for the fall of 2013 if they were able to break ground this spring. Either way the arena will add another option for band tours, events, conferences, ect. I hear the America East Conference (the DI conference where UNH, UVM, and UMAINE play in) is interested in using the arena for their Basketball Conference tournaments. I am curious if one of the local colleges, USouthern Maine or UNE will be interested in playing some of their home games at the new arena.
Also I wonder if the arena will be able to be expanded/increased capacity in 20 years. I have heard also they will be able to squeeze 4k + in the arena for basketball when you include portable seating and standing room. Hopefully this project becomes a reality.
 
Seanflynn78 said:
I think the Red Claws were going to open the arena for the fall of 2013 if they were able to break ground this spring. Either way the arena will add another option for band tours, events, conferences, ect. I hear the America East Conference (the DI conference where UNH, UVM, and UMAINE play in) is interested in using the arena for their Basketball Conference tournaments. I am curious if one of the local colleges, USouthern Maine or UNE will be interested in playing some of their home games at the new arena.
Also I wonder if the arena will be able to be expanded/increased capacity in 20 years. I have heard also they will be able to squeeze 4k + in the arena for basketball when you include portable seating and standing room. Hopefully this project becomes a reality.
Click to expand...

BU in amer east too, no? When i was in college (uvm) i remember BU and vt always duked it out for top place. One year uvm went to the big dance and i believe did ok against a top contender az until it met ct or otjer way around
 
***An article from Today's pressherald stating the developers are definitely moving ahead. The layout and site design are different than the originally planned....


Posted:Today
Updated: 12:26 AM

Ambitious Thompson's Point
project making progress
By Tom Bell
Staff Writer

PORTLAND — The developers of a $105 million mixed-used project on Thompson's Point have reached a franchise agreement with a national hotel company and hope to start construction by the end of this summer.
The group filed a site plan application with the city Tuesday, beginning a formal review process and ending speculation that financial problems had put the project on hold. The project, known as The Forefront at Thompson's Point, was first proposed a year ago.
"It's exciting to have things cranking again," said Chris Thompson, one of the project's managing partners.
The Portland Planning Board has tentatively scheduled a special workshop for May 1 to discuss the project.
"We are absolutely moving forward with this," said Carol Morrissette, chair of the Planning Board. "It's nice to be part of something that can be so big for the community."
The project would be the largest private development in Maine in recent memory, said Greg Mitchell, Portland's economic development director.
A key piece of the project would be an 80,000-square-foot event center, with about an acre of floor area for trade shows.
The event center also would serve as a 3,500-seat arena for the Maine Red Claws professional basketball team and other sporting events. It would be attached to a 125-room hotel and a concert hall that would seat as many as 2,200 people.
The project would also include a 730-car parking garage and two office buildings, along with several surface parking lots. The largest office building would be 120,000 square feet.
The project has not changed much since it was first proposed in April 2011. It has been refined, and the configuration of some of the buildings has been modified, Thompson said.
The other managing partners in the project are Jon Jennings and William J. Ryan Jr., two of the major owners of the Red Claws.
Jennings said the hotel would be a "business class" hotel, similar to the Hilton Garden Inn. He declined to name the franchise.
Thompson said the developers have a contract to buy the site when the permitting is completed. He said the developers are negotiating with a company from outside the city to lease the largest office building on the site.
Thompson's Point is nearly 30 acres and juts out into the Fore River. It was once a rail yard. In recent years, it has had industrial uses, including the storage of tractor trailers.
"It's a fairly run-down and blighted site," Mitchell said.
He said the project would serve as a "gateway" to the city because of its proximity to Interstate 295, the Portland Transportation Center and the Portland International Jetport.
In June, the city approved a $31 million, 30-year property tax break for the project, which the developers indicated was needed for the financing package to work.
Some of the money from the project would be earmarked for transit improvements, such as adding a dedicated bus service between the transportation center, the airport and downtown Portland.
Staff Writer Tom Bell can be contacted at 791-6369 or at: tbell@mainetoday.com
Twitter: TomBellPortland
 
I thought the hotel was going to be an ALoft (part of the Starwood brand)? Here is the new rendering from the above article:

TheForeFrontRender032812WEB.jpg
 
Corey said:
I thought the hotel was going to be an ALoft (part of the Starwood brand)? Here is the new rendering from the above article:

TheForeFrontRender032812WEB.jpg
Click to expand...

Quality urban design is sorely lacking in that site layout--what a shame. For a gateway to one of the most livable, walkable and lovable cities in the northeast, this is something I would personally rather see hidden out by the mall somewhere. The largest office building has more square footage than the 10-story Intermed building in Bayside, but consists of a squat generic building surrounded by parking…and this for a site directly adjacent to the Amtrak station and with a continuous bus service planned? I can think of no better spot to use in taking advantage of the City’s fee-in-lieu of parking ordinance. Each building will no doubt be nice on the inside, why can’t the site be great on the outside? There are enough “raw materials” here to make a really cool place, something which will outlive its current uses. But this site layout runs the risk of falling victim to creative destruction when a new developer sees a more profitable use for the land in the future (essentially, build, tear down, build again, etc.)
 
Edit -- I don't think the FIL ordinance applies here, does anyone know for sure?
 
^ I'm pretty sure the Fee In Lieu is peninsula only. And it's never been used, which makes me question how useful it is for developers.

That said, there's an upcoming planning study that'll be focused on the Libbytown neighborhood. That study might advocate (if they get some pressure from the public) that the city get rid of parking requirements altogether in this neighborhood, and make it a truly transit-oriented district.

The parking lots can easily be redeveloped as buildings in the future. And I think it makes sense that most of the surface parking is on the east side of the point - nearest the ugly freeway. That's going to be the "back" of the site from most visitors' perspectives. It looks like they're planning what could be a nice pedestrian promenade down the middle of the site, between the arena and the office building, and that's likely to be the main gateway for most visitors, whether they're arriving from the PTC or the parking garage.

It's really too bad that the developers couldn't buy out the Suburban Propane site - that's the lot between the train tracks and the office building/ampitheater. That would have been the ideal site for the parking garage, inland and adjacent to the bus/train station. Instead the garage is on the water, facing the marsh and the wooded Waynflete playing fields. It's one of the most scenic spots on the site and it's going to be used for car parking. Bummer.

All that said, this site plan is an improvement over the first one. And the additional tax revenue sounds like it could fund a truly great bus service from downtown to here to outer Congress Street, which is also exciting.
 
cneal said:
^ I'm pretty sure the Fee In Lieu is peninsula only. And it's never been used, which makes me question how useful it is for developers.

That said, there's an upcoming planning study that'll be focused on the Libbytown neighborhood. That study might advocate (if they get some pressure from the public) that the city get rid of parking requirements altogether in this neighborhood, and make it a truly transit-oriented district.

The parking lots can easily be redeveloped as buildings in the future. And I think it makes sense that most of the surface parking is on the east side of the point - nearest the ugly freeway. That's going to be the "back" of the site from most visitors' perspectives. It looks like they're planning what could be a nice pedestrian promenade down the middle of the site, between the arena and the office building, and that's likely to be the main gateway for most visitors, whether they're arriving from the PTC or the parking garage.

It's really too bad that the developers couldn't buy out the Suburban Propane site - that's the lot between the train tracks and the office building/ampitheater. That would have been the ideal site for the parking garage, inland and adjacent to the bus/train station. Instead the garage is on the water, facing the marsh and the wooded Waynflete playing fields. It's one of the most scenic spots on the site and it's going to be used for car parking. Bummer.

All that said, this site plan is an improvement over the first one. And the additional tax revenue sounds like it could fund a truly great bus service from downtown to here to outer Congress Street, which is also exciting.
Click to expand...

Shoreland zoning may prevent redevelopment of the parking lots nearest the water, and I fail to note the pedestrian prom in this rendering (do you think it's that gray arae between buildings?). Also, for better or worse, the freeway will be the vantage point from which most people see this thing, so that perspective really matters in my opinion (although visitor's arrival is undoubtedly important as well). I'd like to see a centralized parking garage wrapped in commercial space, and out of sight.

This project looks like a super block whereas the former siteplan had more of a punctuated layout. It looks way too suburban, and I don't envision the Libbytown abolishing parking requirements any time soon (which isn't to say it's a bad idea, just that peoples' thoughts on these things are less progressive than an urban enthusiast's often times).

As for the FIL, the lack of new large scale development might have something to do with its under-use. It would be interesting to see if Federated uses it, but of course that garage is paid for by fed funding and is a central component to the 'transit' oriented plans of Bayside, so I suspect it will remain a central component, both literally and figuratively.
 
By moving the arena to the end (left in rendering) and arranging the four freestanding structures to create a "street" whether used by cars or just pedestrians, a 'place' might be designed that is greater than the sum of its parts, which is the point of urban design (many people conflate urban design with the regulation of private features, like architectural controls, rather than their aggregation to form outdoor rooms). This siteplan lacks urban design, which is frustrating.
 
Good points, PortlandArch and cneal. The Suburban Propane site is a pretty large area and it's location abutting the railroad tracks would make it ideal for parking infrastructure. I'd prefer as much parking as possible to be confined to the parking garage as opposed to surface lots and ideally the parking structure would be surrounded by retail/office/restaurant space or something useful. Putting the ugliest parts of the development (parking, garages, loading docks, etc) on the I-295 side would definitely make sense. I was taking photos on the point a couple weeks ago and, as expected, the noise and visual aesthetics of the highway is something that would be best to hide as much as possible. A bus line directly connecting this area to downtown is really key, too. Whatever is built here will probably not be nearly as urban as we would all like, but it will be better overall than what is there now.
 
^ FIL ordinance also doesn't apply to residential development, another major shortcoming. So Federated probably won't use the FIL option, because their project is expected to be mostly apartments.

I disagree about the political feasibility re: deregulating parking in transit-oriented districts. There are already at least four councilors who I'm pretty sure would be supportive of the idea, including Ed Suslovic, whose district this is. If just the people from this forum showed up and spoke up at planning meetings and council meetings, it could happen.
 
cneal said:
^ FIL ordinance also doesn't apply to residential development, another major shortcoming. So Federated probably won't use the FIL option, because their project is expected to be mostly apartments.

I disagree about the political feasibility re: deregulating parking in transit-oriented districts. There are already at least four councilors who I'm pretty sure would be supportive of the idea, including Ed Suslovic, whose district this is. If just the people from this forum showed up and spoke up at planning meetings and council meetings, it could happen.
Click to expand...

FIL doesn't apply to res? That's a major shortcoming. However, Federated's project is so big that it masks the fact that included amongst its residential aspect is enough retail to fill 1/10 of the Maine Mall's square footage (100,000 sf) as well as a hotel and office tower.

As for the politics, I think if anything the councilors are more progressive than their constituents (rather than 1:1 perfect reflection of majority view), whereas those in Libbytown might not themselves be in support of--or at least wouldn't agitate for--the abolishment of min parking requirements. Also, would we really call Libbytown a TOD? The Amtrak is there, but not easily accessible, and this new development is centered around parking. The rest of the area has bus service, but Libbytown is much larger than the areas which front on the primary corridors, and much of it requires a car (for convenience if not by necessity). Again, I don't think abolishing parking min requirements is bad, but I don't see the same support for it in Libbytown as I would in the Eastern Waterfront or Bayside or Gorham's Corner (the three areas in the 1991 Downtown Plan targeted for urban periphery infill growth). Just an observation, though, not a policy stance.
 
I am curious to see if the arena will have room to be renovated in ten years or whenever the arena needs updating/expansion. 3,500 is a really small arena by todays standards, its only 500 seats more than the Portland Expo where the Red Claws play now. Just seems a waste to build a new arena when renovating the Expo with luxury seating would not be as expensive. This arena could also have 500+ courtside/temp seats for game day which would increase the capacity to 4k. Plus do they still plan on having the trail around the arena or did that get cut with the current renderings? I wish they would add an ice surface to this complex too, would make a great place to see a college hockey game.
 
Seanflynn78 said:
I am curious to see if the arena will have room to be renovated in ten years or whenever the arena needs updating/expansion. 3,500 is a really small arena by todays standards, its only 500 seats more than the Portland Expo where the Red Claws play now. Just seems a waste to build a new arena when renovating the Expo with luxury seating would not be as expensive. This arena could also have 500+ courtside/temp seats for game day which would increase the capacity to 4k. Plus do they still plan on having the trail around the arena or did that get cut with the current renderings? I wish they would add an ice surface to this complex too, would make a great place to see a college hockey game.
Click to expand...
I believe 3,500 seats plus the luxury boxes is the max. amount that the Red Claws can realistically expect to draw on a regular basis. I believe the arena is being designed so it's a very cozy basketball arena and so that the atmosphere is lively. The Civic Center would be way to big for the Red Claws and the atmosphere would be sorely lacking in that building. Also, concerts at the new Arena would draw a crowd of approx. 5,000.
Putting an ice surface in would be way too expensive to maintain and why do that when you have an ice surface at the Civic Center. Also, what College Hockey team would play there? UMaine annually draws between 5,500 and 6,800+ at the Civic Center. 3,500 seats would be way to small for the UMaine program. USM Hockey program has no following and would be lucky to draw 500 people.
Possibly High School Regional and State Tournament Hockey games could play there if an ice surface was added.
The new 5,400 seat Arena in Bangor isn't even putting in an ice surface because without a primary tenant (hockey team) it just wouldn't be worth it $$.
 
Here's the commercial brokers' brochure:


http://www.loopnet.com/Attachments/1/E/D/1EDC2B78-7BAF-407F-A9BB-8B5D8D6A4305.pdf

...with some additional rough-cut renderings of the project. Note that these drawings show three additional buildings not shown in the rendering above: one on the tip of the peninsula, one halfway up, opposite the arena, and another on the western edge of the site. Presumably these are for future phases, and the developers are marketing the space now.

The drawings show some funny details on the mid-peninsula building opposite the arena (see pages 1 and 3). I see bright red walls, a fake lighthouse tower and a funky spiral at the main entrance facing the pedestrian street through the middle of the site.

Maybe they're trying to attract the children's museum for this parcel? It would seem to meet their requirements for a site with lots of room and parking.
 
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