Time & Temp Building / Brown St. Parking Garage Redevelopment | Portland

This is back on the Planning Board's agenda next week. Hopefully they've worked out any issues with valet parking and will move forward with restoring the old girl soon!
 
After the Westin makeover of the Eastland Hotel years ago, this the most important renovation project in downtown Portland and will add vitality to the Monument Square area. The Masonic Building is the next aging structure that needs some serious attention in my opinion.
 
Any word on the residential / Parking garage aspect of the project? I haven’t seen any updates from that in well over a year.
 
Based on the materials posted for the meeting, it looks like the developers have conceded to the city's request to locate all valet parking on Preble Street. Also looks like they've agreed not to reduce sidewalk width on Congress, and are just seeking to have a couple 5 minute drop-off spots for rideshare arrivals, who they say will inevitably use the Congress Street entrance. Interestingly the developers are predicting that 60-65% of their guests will arrive by rideshare.

The 14th floor bar and rooftop deck could be really cool. I also love the plans to renovate the old arcade area for restaurants and retail open to the public. Looks like they've been doing a lot of work with staff behind the scenes, so hopefully the planning board will sign off, then one hearing before Historic Preservation on the exterior and they can get to work on this beauty!
 
The Planning Board approved these plans earlier this week. The developers said they're planning to lease 56 spaces in the parking garage, but otherwise there was no mention of a potential redevelopment of that site.

They go before Historic Preservation next week, and I think they'll basically be good to go after that. Based on the extent of the work they're proposing to do I have to imagine this will be an 18-24 month project.
 
Max said:
Based on the extent of the work they're proposing to do I have to imagine this will be an 18-24 month project.
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Isn't the building mostly gutted already? If so, hopefully that shortens the timeline.
 
Max, do you think the 56 spaces they leased are in the new Art's District Garage (silly name) or in the relic they intend to eventually demolish? Dr. Strangehat, it's pretty much empty but I don't think it has been gutted yet and the only renovations that I've noticed is the exterior of mechanical level (post #75) on the roof.
 
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The meeting materials say the garage is at 45 Brown Street, which is the derelict old garage. I'm not sure what their plans for parking would be if/when it's redeveloped. It's also hard to imagine anyone paying $500+/night for a hotel room and parking in what is probably the grungiest parking garage in Portland. Perhaps they're planning to offer valet-only parking.
 
DV74 said:
Update in today’s MaineBiz: https://www.mainebiz.biz/article/time-temp-room-service-portland-landmark-moves-closer-to-redo-as-luxury-hotel?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Daily+Report:+Iconic+Portland+tower+moves+closer+to+becoming+a+hotel;++fiber+broadband+planned+for+5+communities;+new+bank+branch+in+Brewer&utm_campaign=Daily+Report+020122+v2
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They will have to do something truly unique to make this work. Over the last few years around the U.S., I've stayed in several old buildings like this one (1920s to 30s) converted into hotels, and all of them were rather dreary, blah. They will have to give it a fun theme like the Press Hotel, and the rooftop bar must be forward in its design. The Westin ruined their rooftop bar with glass that reflects at night, thus nothing can be seen out the windows. Also, the "new" bar design is garbage. This new hotel will truly have to be done in a high design concept. A chain idea will ruin it (a la Westin).
 
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Am pleased that the developer has maintained the horizontal dividers between the 13th and 14th floors and is very similar to Dr. StrangeHat's photoshop efforts in previous posts. I felt that the over emphasis on glass on the top two floors in the initial renderings made them stand out too much from the original facade.
 
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Portlander said:
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Am pleased that the developer has maintained the horizontal dividers between the 13th and 14th floors and is very similar to Dr. StrangeHat's photoshop efforts in previous posts. I felt that the over emphasis on glass on the top two floors in the initial renderings made them stand out too much from the original facade.
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That looks REALLY nice! I hope that they follow through.
 
 
Portlander said:
View attachment 20980
Am pleased that the developer has maintained the horizontal dividers between the 13th and 14th floors and is very similar to Dr. StrangeHat's photoshop efforts in previous posts. I felt that the over emphasis on glass on the top two floors in the initial renderings made them stand out too much from the original facade.
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I actually never sent those ideas over to them, so maybe they were reading this thread. I'm really glad to see they went with the horizontal dividers.

I still think the roofline cornice needs to be more prominent than the 12th floor cornice, as Portlander noted when we were working through these ideas. It makes the top two floors continue to look like an obvious addition.
 
^ 100%, or at least make the top floor cornice equal to the lower one. In addition, they should also replicate the slender horizontal lips that are visible on the dividers on the lower floors for uniformity.
 
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Historic Preservation was very pleased with the current plans. There was some discussion about the nature of the time & temp sign on the roof. Developers are planning to replace it with a modern LED sign (rather than bulbs) of roughly the same dimensions. Plans are to keep it text-only but possibly multiple color options. They're still working out the details.

This will have to go back before HPB for a public hearing. Hopefully that happens soon and work can begin by spring.
 
Personally, I'd like to see the sign remain in a 4-character and mono-color configuration. Anything beyond that seems too much like a digital billboard.
 
Cosakita18 said:
Personally, I'd like to see the sign remain in a 4-character and mono-color configuration. Anything beyond that seems too much like a digital billboard.
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Yeah, one of my favorite games driving around town is trying to decipher the message. No need for color or more characters. (Call Joe was too easy)
 
It would be nice to see them take advantage of the historic nature of the building and do the interior in an early authentic art deco scheme with the rooftop bar envisioned as a 1920's jazz club. Unfortunately, i seriously doubt anything like this will occur and it will end up being a poorly conceived sea of gray materials.
 
They will have to thoroughly gut the interior of this structure like the Press Hotel building was done. If not, it feels and looks superficial, and the musty odors accumulated from the past somehow creep up and out. I've been in many old buildings around the U.S. that have been converted to or renovated as hotels, and nearly all of them look and feel that way--creepy. The Press Hotel is the exception. It beats them all, or the ones I've stayed in.
 
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