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

Closer to home-
Grain Elevator #2 was located between Fore St and the water prior to being demolished in 1974. Could have made a sweet indoor climbing gym!
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This tower is located in Asheville, NC. It was the former BB&T Bank building (1965) and is the tallest in the city at 18 floors and 215 feet. It has been transformed into The Arras which is a mixed used tower of condos, retail, restaurants and hotel rooms and is another example of what can be done to older structures by giving them a new life. Obviously, the historic planning board and Portland preservationists would never allow a complete makeover to the Time & Temperature building like this and I wouldn't either. I've been to Asheville many times and find it to be one of the best small cities in the country.
 
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I think Portlander's fine example of the former Amoskeag Bank building in Manchester is the most likely possibility. I'd say more workforce housing with smaller units would certainly be supported. I hadn't given much thought to the demolition of the building, do we think that would get any consideration if the building's structural integrity is still there?
 
Hopefully it will get the TLC it needs and it has become an much appreciated landmark for Greater Portland since it's opening in 1924. I think there would be serious opposition from residents and historical groups if it were ever slated for demolition. As far as structural integrity, I've been told that it's satisfactory up to the 12th floor. The 1963 two story addition needs some shoring up especially on the exterior skin and ceilings. My former girlfriend is an attorney and worked on the top two floors prior to her law firm relocating to another building and the walls would shudder and the roof would leak during moderate to heavy winds and rain!
 
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Photo of the Ambassador Hotel (Autograph Collection) in downtown Wichita, KS that was transformed from office use to lodging in 2012. This 14 story tower was the former Union National Bank headquarters and was the tallest building in Wichita at the time of its completion in 1926. It is considered to be the premier hotel in the city and it reminds me of what hopefully will still happen with the Time & Temperature seeing that both of the building's history, appearance and size are so similar. This bottom to top renovation cost $40 million 11 years ago.
 
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Thanks Max. Appears that the hotel and residential usage will be evenly split when you account for restaurant and retail possibilities of the commercial 48500 sf. Having the Fathom Companies involved should be a huge plus considering their track record.
 
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Some more details of the new proposal: A total of 276 units split between residential and hotel.
The large majority of the residential units will be small (very small) studio apartments.

From the project narrative:

"The project includes interior and exterior renovations to the existing building. The projectincludes the conversion of the properties into 140 long term residential micro unit apartmentsand 136 “hotel” units. The project will also include approximately 4,800 square feet of retail anda restaurant with approximately 140 seats. There will be various amenity spaces available toapartment and hotel guests, including a fitness center and co-working spaces. The first-floorGreenMars (232868.02) 2 Woodard & Curran, Inc.2023.09.29 477 Congress St - Time & Temp - Project Summary.docx September 29, 2023historic arcade will be restored for public access from Preble Street and Congress Street andwill include retail spaces again targeted towards local businesses that support the residents andguests. The first floor of the former TD Bank space (481 Congress Street) will have be fit out asa restaurant. Access will be provided to a roof-top observation deck"

(Why is "hotel" in quotation marks here??)


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Honestly, It's going to be very interesting to see how they can squeeze 276 units into that building.
 
Cosakita18 said:
Some more details of the new proposal: A total of 276 units split between residential and hotel.
The large majority of the residential units will be small (very small) studio apartments.

From the project narrative:

"The project includes interior and exterior renovations to the existing building. The projectincludes the conversion of the properties into 140 long term residential micro unit apartmentsand 136 “hotel” units. The project will also include approximately 4,800 square feet of retail anda restaurant with approximately 140 seats. There will be various amenity spaces available toapartment and hotel guests, including a fitness center and co-working spaces. The first-floorGreenMars (232868.02) 2 Woodard & Curran, Inc.2023.09.29 477 Congress St - Time & Temp - Project Summary.docx September 29, 2023historic arcade will be restored for public access from Preble Street and Congress Street andwill include retail spaces again targeted towards local businesses that support the residents andguests. The first floor of the former TD Bank space (481 Congress Street) will have be fit out asa restaurant. Access will be provided to a roof-top observation deck"

(Why is "hotel" in quotation marks here??)


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Honestly, It's going to be very interesting to see how they can squeeze 276 units into that building.
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320 SF for a 1BR, 380SF for a 2BR is really quite small. Will be interesting to see the layouts.
 
Thanks for finding this Ben and it's good news. Not sure why "hotel" is in quotations. My simple math shows that there will be approximately 23 units per floor (12) which is feasible seeing a majority will be studio and hotel rooms will in the 250-350 square foot range. Most important items for me are the exterior renovations, restoring the arcade and a roof top observation deck. Can't wait to see some renderings and I'm curious if they will be similar to the current ones.
 
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Did the former developers sell the building? the local news is portraying this as a new development and the developers are looking for investment partners and hope to go in front of the board in 2024.
 
Thanks for posting this PWMFlyer and I'm going to make an effort to attend.
 
Looking at the floorplans...I'm a bit confused about the distinction between the hotel and "micro unit" residential units.

Some units on the residential floors (Floors 2-6) have kitchen facilities shown, and others don't. There also doesn't seem to be any distinction in layout between the studio residential and studio hotel units.

Example: Here is a 1 bedroom workforce unit with a kitchen (Note the stove and sink)
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and on the same floor, here is another 2 bedroom workforce unit seemingly without a kitchen.

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I know these are still early plans but it raises a few questions for me.
 
Ehhh just set a hot plate on top of the toilet
 
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