Old Port Sq.: A proposal for the tallest building in Maine has certainly stirred up a lot of conversation around Portland, including at GPL. Staff had a great introductory conversation with Jessica James at Longfellow Communications who is managing community relations for East Brown Cow. Jessica is facilitating meetings with the project team and GPL’s staff and working group to discuss the proposal in more detail.
Foreside: Kate and Alison have started a dialogue with the developers of Foreside at the historic Portland Company complex. With a mixture of historic structures and new construction, staff is excited to learn more about the next phases of the project.
Historic Preservation Program Website Resources: Portland’s Historic Preservation department is updating their website to provide more information with greater accessibility for users. These great improvements include a dedicated page for each local historic district now with reports, maps, and property descriptions, and information about Historic Landscape Districts and individual local Landmarks. With more updates to come, be sure to check out the website when doing research on Portland properties, making changes to your historic property, or finding out more about the richness of Portland’s historic fabric.
142 Free Street: In preparation to raze the building, the Portland Museum of Art has been conducting exploratory demolition at 142 Free Street. A demolition permit has not yet been granted, but we anticipate the building will be removed early this fall. PMA has not shared plans for the site beyond the intention to create a park, and has not initiated the review process for their new building. GPL has publicly and privately urged PMA to delay demolition until their larger project is approved and funded, avoiding the potential of creating a hole in a historic streetscape for an unknown length of time.
Preservation wins in ME: Colleagues across the state, including GPL, have been dedicated to passing legislation in support of Maine nonprofits and their missions. The Cultural Alliance of Maine has shared a list of wins for preservation, with support from Maine Preservation:
LD 146 - An Act to Increase the Maximum Amount of the Historic Property Rehabilitation Tax Credit That May be Taken in a Year. ✔️ Passed and Enacted with the Governor's Signature. The bill allows developers to divide the maximum credit of $10M available in the first two years into unequal amounts. From the Maine Association of Planners’ testimony in support: “The maximum allowable credit has not been revised since 2013. Maine construction costs have more than doubled in that time, meaning that the allowable $5 million goes less than half as far as it did in 2013 to offset costs associated with construction… at a time when creating more housing units is a bipartisan priority.”
LD 1755 - An Act to Increase the Maine Historic Property Rehabilitation Tax Credit in Rural Areas. ✔️ Passed and Enacted with the Governor's Signature. Increases the state Historic Property Rehabilitation tax credit by 10% if the project is at least 33% dedicated to housing and is in an unorganized territory or municipality with fewer than 12,500 residents.
Historic Buildings Bond Administration budget item: ✔️ Fully funded. In 2024 voters approved a $10 million bond for historic buildings owned by municipalities and nonprofits. CAM supported Maine Preservation in advocating for its passage with legislators, followed by promotion of the ballot question with voters. This year, the full $25K requested by Maine Historic Preservation Commission for bond administration was included in the supplemental budget.
