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By Carol McCracken
The City of Portland has declared another city-wide parking ban beginning tonight at 10:00 p.m. and ending tomorrow, Monday, January 19, 2009 at 6:00 a.m. Failure to abide by this will result in fines for towing, parking, etc.
Cars need to be removed by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow.
The other usual rules apply as well.
By Carol McCracken
In a stunning move that left some still puzzled, Ocean Properties withdrew from negotiations with the City of Portland to redevelop the Maine State Pier on the waterfront at the base of Munjoy Hill. At a hastily arranged news conference this morning, Mayor Jill Duson read from a prepared statement: “The city is disappointed but we accept Ocean Properties decision not to go forward with negotiations on the Maine State Pier. We understand that due to existing commitments and the proposed timeline of the development process, they cannot participate in the Maine State Pier rehabilitation project.”
Attorney Harold Pachios speaking for “OP” said the decision not to go forward was a business decision. Since the selection process began and OP was not selected to redevelop the Pier, it has invested itself and its human resources in other developments around the country. Pachios went on to say that OP is a family run business. The family met earlier this week and he was notified yesterday afternoon of the family’s decision not to go forward with the City. He also said it had nothing at all to do with the company’s ability to secure financing for the project. The company is in a unique cash position. “It’s simple. That’s it,” he said emphatically several times.
The Mayor said that this situation was certainly a setback for the development of the Pier, but “not the end of the story.” In the meantime, she asked the city manager to provide the city council with a list of its options for the Pier for its next meeting. According to the city manger, Joe Gray, the city invested only a minimum amount of money in costs, and he had no ballpark figure of that this morning. It had been anticipated that it would cost $18 million to restore the Pier.
Following the news conference councilor John Anton said he found no fault with OP’s decision to withdraw. “In these economic times, people would do better to buy real estate rather than to build projects such as this.” Asked whether the expected stimulus package from the new administration could be applied to this project, Anton responded: “Everyone has spent the new stimulas package at least ten times.” Anton supported Olympia Cos.
Councilor David Marshall said: “I was in opposition to negotiating with OP due to its track record in doing business with muncipalaties. In Hollywood City, Florida, OP did not return city phone calls and canceled meetings which tied up development of the waterfront. This development will give the residents of Portland a real chance to tell us what they want on the waterfront. It will be a citizen-driven process.”
City councilors and others attending the news conference expressed surprise at these developments. There was no indication this was about to happen – raising speculation in some quarters as to the real reason for this sudden withdrawal by OP. In fact, Mayor Duson said that the city’s negotiating team had already had preliminary meetings with the OP team recently.
In the meantime, Mayor Duson said that the series of public meetings scheduled for January 29 and January 31 at Ocean Gateway have been canceled.
By Carol McCracken
The ‘for sale’ sign in front of 75-77 St. Lawrence Street went up last summer and it’s still there. Sales of condominiums on the Hill are way down and so it’s not surprising it hasn’t been sold. The property developer is very optimistic, however, about the real estate market on the East End in the future.
That developer is Mark Poirier. When the sign was put up last summer, he’d just finished gutting and restoring the two family unit into a showplace ready for the real estate market. The two unit condominium has all of the amenities that are expected in todays luxury marketplace while keeping the high ceilings and large rooms that retain an unmistakable, old-time charm. The piece de resistance, however, is the partial third floor Poirier added to the top of the building. It has a stunning view of Portland harbor and the City. The “observatory” measures 20’ x 16’.
There is something else that isn’t standard in todays condominium marketplace either. This property has undergone an energy audit by the Heat Doctor. Energy losses to the old building were detected through the use of an infrared camera – then they were corrected. Thus saving an average of about 1,000 gallons of oil to the units, said Bob Swan, one of the two Heat Doctors working at the St. Lawrence Street home. The above ground portion of the basement walls had to be insulated with polyurthane spray foam to seal all the air leaks at the St. Lawrence Street property. During the summer, Swan said he worked 6 or 7 days a week trying to keep up with the demand for energy audits. However, since the price of fuel has declined significantly, the demand for energy audits has slowed down as well.
The other Heat Doctor is Mark Poirier, a developer and Swan’s business partner. “Back when these old places on the Hill were built, insulation was not on the checklist,” said Poirier. When he describes to Hill residents the house he has just restored, the response frequently is: “That’s Cecil Hines’ old place.” Hines was well known in the area as a swimming star at Portland High School where he set records. Later in life, he worked for the city’s recreation department where he taught thousands of children to swim over his career. Poirier bought his former home from his estate. For more information on the Heat Doctor, please call 653-2235. Poirier who has been in the real estate business for years says it will take another year for the real estate business to turnaround and head back up. People keep wondering – has the market reached the bottom yet? “The East End is the hottest real estate area in Maine. It has so much to offer,” Poirier said.
For information on the old Hines place, please call real estate agent Colleen Bedard at 553-7349. Prices start at $350,000.00
By Carol McCracken
The City is hosting a series of public meetings to receive input on key issues for the redevelopment of the Maine State Pier. The meetings are designed to inform the public of the history, policies and developmental goals for the pier, gather information from the public on a variety of key issues and finally, convey this to the City Council and Ocean Properties. The latter company has been picked to redevelop the MSP in lieu of the default by developer Olympia Cos., the Council’s first choice.
At its Monday, January 5 meeting, the Council directed the staff to set up such a series of public meetings to start the end of this month.
The first meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 29 from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. at the Ocean Gateway Terminal, 14 Ocean Gateway Pier. The subject is: The Maine State Pier – Building on the Past.
The second meeting is scheduled for Saturday, January 31 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the same place. The subject is: Community Design Workshop – Creating a Pier for Portland’s Future.
The final step in the series is the presentation of workshop results on Thursday, February 26 at 6:30 p.m. in Council chambers at the city hall. For more information, please call the city’s planning division at 874-8719 or visit the city’s website www.portlandmaine.gov for periodic updates.
