Developer seeks to demolish Portland buildings for CVS pharmacy
A developer is seeking to tear down three historic buildings and two others between 351 and 379 Forest Ave. in Portland to make way for a new CVS pharmacy, the Portland Press Herald reported.
Palmer Spring Co., maker of mechanical springs, has been in its current location for more than 80 years. David Munster’s TV Sales and Service is a fourth-generation business. Forest Gardens bar has been in business for about 80 years. City officials are considering whether the three buildings should be designated as historic and spared the wrecking ball.
Historic buildings are just one characteristic identified by portlandmaine.gov as making Forest Avenue special. It’s also a critical transportation and development corridor linking the Portland Peninsula to Interstate 295 and beyond to off-peninsula neighborhood centers. The section of Forest Avenue between Park Avenue and Woodford’s Corner has many great features, including frequent transit service, high-density mixed-use buildings, the University of Southern Maine's urban campus, historic buildings, Oakhurst Dairy, pre-World War II multi-story commercial blocks at Woodford’s Corner, Hannaford Shopping Center with the city’s largest grocery store, attractive residential neighborhoods, abundant opportunities for infill development and a wide right of way ripe for reconfiguration.
Munster told the paper he has started looking for a new location for his business. However, new spaces that he can afford are getting harder to come by, especially those that have the visibility of Forest Avenue.
“My son is the fourth generation — I’d like to see it keep going and stay here,” said Munster.
A CVS attorney contends that only the Palmer Spring building could be considered historic, but said alterations through the years have removed its architectural historical significance.
CVS currently has five locations in Portland.
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