Maine Medical Center Proposes New Employee Garage

Maine Medical Center is proposing a new 2,400-car garage to be built off St. John Street. 

On Tuesday July 10th Portland's Planning Board will hold a workshop at 4:30 on the new 2,400 car parking garage proposed by Maine Medical Center off St. John Street. The new employee garage will be located behind the Maine Central Railroad Office Building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a local landmark. The architect has created a number of images of the proposed building from various vantage points in the city. The new garage will be visible from I-295, St. John Street and the Western Promenade. For more information on the project, visit the city's website.

Construction is everywhere in Portland! Which one will be a Future Landmark?

An aerial image of the developing eastern waterfront prepared by Archetype Architects of Portland for a recent planning board submission to develop the Shipyard Brewery site on Newbury Street. 

Portland is experiencing a building boom.While many new buildings are under construction, several more are in the planning stages. New construction is occurring off and on the peninsula, from the West End to Munjoy Hill, from Bayside to North Deering. The India Street neighborhood is the site of many new projects in Portland and the neighborhood experiencing the most change. A new proposal for the Shipyard Brewing site for offices, hotel and residential use is currently under consideration by the Portland Planning Board. Here is an update on some other current projects:

WEX Headquarters, Thames Street

The new WEX Headquarters on Thames Street is quickly taking shape. When finished the four story mixed use building will include 100,000 SF of office space for WEX, a local payment-processing service company. The first floor of the building will have some retail space and the roof will feature a rooftop garden and patio for the company's employees. The building's curtain wall construction takes advantage of the spectacular views from this waterfront site.  

20 Thames Street

Just down the street at 20 Thames Street a new residential and retail building is taking shape behind the former Grand Trunk Office Building. The building is part of a campus of new buildings that includes the new AC Hotel, a new office building on Fore Street, and a planned mixed-use building on India Street. 20 Thames Street will include 28 condo units.

Scheduled to open this month is the 150-room AC Hotel by Marriot at the corner of Fore and Hancock Streets. The hotel has frontage on Fore, Hancock and Thames Street, with vehicular access for hotel guests off of Fore Street. 

The AC Hotel by Marriot at 158 Fore Street will be opening this month.

The Mason Block, India Street is nearly complete.

cPort Credit Union under construction on Middle Street. 

The new Mason Block is nearing construction at 62 India St. Three commercial spaces and parking are located below three levels of residential units. The project provides twenty-nine condominiums on the upper levels, nearly all of which are sold. the building is located in the new India Street Historic District.

Next door to the Mason Block at the corner of India & Middle Street a four-story building is now under construction that will be the new downtown branch for cPort Credit Union. The credit union will occupy the first and second floors, while a 3,000 SF condominium will occupy the upper two floors and the rooftop terrace. This building, like the Mason Block is located in the India Street Historic District.

A new office building is under construction on Widgery Way off Commercial Street.

Further up Munjoy Hill, a new 45-unit condominium building has been proposed  at 218-220 Washington Avenue. Meanwhile, smaller scale development on Munjoy Hill continues following the sunset of the demolition moratorium and City Council adoption of the new R6 zoning regulations in early June. Greater Portland Landmarks continues to work with neighbors and the city to protect some historic landmark properties on Munjoy Hill later this year. 

On the waterfont, a new office building is under construction near the head of Union and Widgery Wharves.  It is the first project to be evaluated under new looser zoning regulations, enacted by the Portland City Council in 2010, that allow new buildings for non-marine uses within 75 feet of Commercial Street. The office building is one of three buildings proposed for the site. Just next door, a developer is pursuing a zoning change with plans for a hotel, parking garage, and restaurant on the site partially occupied by the Portland Lobster Company.

Approved Projects...Not yet under Construction

48 Brown Street - Site work for a new parking garage is getting underway at the corner of Brown Street and Cumberland Avenue. 

58 Boyd Street - Portland Housing Authority has plans for 55 new apartments in East Bayside.

75 Chestnut Street - The land and approvals for this 54-unit apartment building, known as Westerlea View Lofts, in West Bayside is currently being marketed for sale. 

383 Commercial Street (the former Rufus Deering Site) - The first phase of this retail, residential & hotel development was approved in June. The first phase will include the hotel and half of the retail and residential units proposed for the former lumber yard site. The project includes a new pedestrian way connecting York Street and Commercial Street (image left). 

Deering Place is two new apartment buildings proposed by Avesta Housing on Deering, Cumberland and Mellen streets that will add affordable housing in the Parkside neighborhood. 

Currently in the Planning Process...

Franklin Street - Verdante

Thompson's Point Hotel

Congress St - Maine Med Expansion

Commercial St - Fishermen's Wharf

60 Parris Street

203 Fore Street

Munjoy Hill Zoning Changes head to City Council

The Planning Board unanimously approved recommending passage of the revised zoning language for the R6 Zone on Munjoy Hill on Tuesday, May 15th. The City Council is expected to hold a public hearing and vote on the recommended changes on June 4th. 

The zoning recommendations reflect months of city and neighborhood conversations about the future of Munjoy Hill. Landmarks believes the package is a good balance between conserving what makes the neighborhood attractive, while allowing new compatible development to occur in this desirable neighborhood. 

City staff has recommended moving forward with historic district designations later this year and we are encouraging City Councilors to express their desire to see that process move forward as soon as possible, hopefully with public hearings this fall. 

Throughout the moratorium period, Landmarks has met with various stakeholders and the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Organization (MHNO). In advance of the planning board public hearing we met with MHNO and the newly formed Munjoy Hill Conservation Collaborative. The three groups found we have major areas of agreement.

Landmarks is asking the City Council:

• to direct city staff to move forward with the historic district designation process
• to support the proposed demolition review ordinance with one minor amendment for clarification purposes that would ensure buildings with significant social or cultural history will be protected by the demolition review process
• to support the proposed dimensional standards with a couple of amendments for clarification purposes that would ensure the R-6 design standards will remain a useful tool for the planning board as they review the scale and massing compatibility of new construction on Munjoy Hill.

Please contact the city council and let them know that you support Landmarks position and the position of our neighborhood allies. Thank you!

Munjoy Hill Public Hearing Tuesday May 8th

On Tuesday, May 8th at 7:00 PM in City Council Chambers, the Portland Planning Board will hold a public hearing to consider a zoning map amendment and text amendments to the R-6 zone on Munjoy Hill. The purpose of the map and text amendments are to create an overlay district, the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District, to implement new dimensional, design, and performance standards related to new construction and demolitions in the R-6 zone on Munjoy Hill. Included in the public hearing are text amendments, applicable city-wide, to divisions of the Zoning Ordinance relating to extensions of non-conforming buildings in Division 23 & Division 25. 

The full text of the proposed changes is available on the city website.

We encourage you attend Tuesday night and speak out in favor of protecting the Hill's historic resources or to email the planning board at planningboard@portlandmaine.gov with supportive comments urging the planning board to:

• recommend that the Planning Department begin the historic designation process
• discourage demolitions by amending the dimensional standards so that the scale and mass of a project’s context is taken into account when determining the maximum dimensions allowed
• support the alternative design review option with reviews conducted by the Historic Preservation Board
• support an 18 month demolition delay that includes public notice and comment
• remove language on non-conforming building extensions that would apply city-wide from the discussion of R-6 zoning on Munjoy Hill to allow time for substantive review and comment by the public in other areas of the city.

Read more about Landmarks comments on the proposed changes.

Also...

The Historic Preservation Office will be offering an informational session on Monday, May 7th at 6:30 PM in the Merrill Rehearsal Hall at 20 Myrtle Street. The meeting is intended for owners of property in Portland’s historic districts as well as anyone interested in learning more about the City’s historic preservation program. Whether you’ve recently purchased a property in a historic district, are thinking about undertaking a project, or are simply curious about the potential effect of designation on your neighborhood, this is your chance to learn more. City staff and members of the Historic Preservation Board will describe Portland’s historic preservation program, provide examples of typical reviews and answer your questions.