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April 30, 2007

Going east | A roundup of the latest plans, projects and proposals for Portland's eastern waterfront, including — gasp! — one that's finished

By Kerry Elson
Development plans began invading Portland's quiet eastern waterfront a few years ago, with such projects as Ocean Gateway and the Westin hotel and condos planned for the defunct Jordan's Meats plant off India Street. But then the housing market cooled and the Jordan's plan was taken off the table. For a little while, it almost seemed that few ˆ— if any ˆ— of the many high-profile projects would even break ground.
But that was then. Drive around the base of Portland's Munjoy Hill and the India Street area and development is all around. Construction fences ring properties around Ocean Gateway and sites are being prepped along the Eastern Promenade near India Street. With new hotels, condo units and waterfront developments, the area is gearing up for a major facelift. That is, of course, if all goes to plan. Here's an update on the many development proposals slated for Portland's eastern waterfront:

1.The Federal Street Townhomes
Developer: Ron Gan, Portland
Project: Seven townhouse units
Cost: $4 million
Status: Construction complete; all units sold

Ron Gan has almost wrapped up work on his Federal Street Townhomes. Four buyers already have moved into the condos, valued at $695,000 to $800,000 each. Gan originally expected them to sell as secondary homes for out-of-towners, but all are primary residences for the buyers, says Gan, who moved to the city last year from Chicago.
Now he's planning another condo project, a 15-unit, LEED-certified building on the stretch of Washington Avenue between Congress Street and the 295 exit. "Washington Avenue five years from now is going to be the coolest place," he says.

2.Ocean Gateway
Developer: City of Portland
Project: Cruise ship and ferry terminal
Cost: $20.7 million
Status: Slated for completion by February 2008

Construction has been underway since October 2005 on this ferry and cruise ship terminal, which is replacing the former Bath Iron Works shipyard on Commercial Street. When complete, Ocean Gateway will play host to cruise ships and the Cat, the high-speed ferry from Portland to Nova Scotia.

The Village at OceanGate
Developers: Atlas Investment Group and GFI Partners, both based in Boston
Project: 142-unit condominium complex
Cost: $35 million-$40 million
Status: Developer hopes to receive site plan approval from the city in May; slated to begin construction at the end of 2007.

Atlas Investment and GFI have scaled back their original plan from 176 units to 142. The firms also wanted to make the units more affordable. "We feel that if we increase the price of the unit, then we'll have difficulty selling them," says Demetrio Dasco, the project's managing partner at Atlas Investment.

The project now has two sites, an 86-condo complex on the Village Café property, and a 56-condo complex across the street, on the block bounded by India, Newbury and Hancock Streets. All units will sell for $270,000 to $400,000 each, Dasco says.

4.Maine State Pier
Developer: The Olympia Companies, Portland, or Ocean Properties Ltd., Portsmouth, N.H.
Project: Both proposals include mixed-use development, including tug piers, hotels, office space, restaurants and parking
Cost: Each proposal is more than $90 million
Status: City is considering the proposals.

The Olympia Cos. and Ocean Properties presented their plans for the Maine State Pier to the city council in March, the next step in one of the city's largest development projects in years. The council's community development committee will recommend one of the proposals to the full council this June, city councilor Jim Cloutier has told Mainebiz.

5. The Watermark
Developer: Riverwalk LLC, Portland
Project: 125 condos; 31,000-square-foot office building; 720-car garage
Cost: $100 million
Status: Garage: Broke ground Apr. 26; slated for completion April 2008. Condos: Break ground in July; slated for completion in early 2009. Office building: Break ground in November; slated for completion November 2008.

Developer Drew Swenson dropped plans for a 50-room hotel here last year when he learned about the Procaccianti Group's Westin project. "We didn't think we could compete with a hotel of that size," he says. Instead, Swenson added a 31,000-square-foot office building and boosted the number of condos from 70 to 125, confident, he says, that he'll attract buyers looking for a second or third home in the city.

The project originally was dubbed "The Riverwalk," but Swenson is now calling the development "The Watermark." The condos, ranging from 875 sq. ft. to 5,000 sq. ft., will sell for $600 per sq. ft. Swenson hopes to start pre-selling condos this summer.

Residence Inn by Marriott
Developers: Summit Hotel Properties, Topsfield, Mass.; Norwich Partners, Lebanon, N.H.
Project: 130,000-square-foot, extended-stay hotel
Cost: "Well in excess" of $20 million
Status: Submitted plans to the city in November; if approved in the next month, slated for completion by early fall 2008

Summit Hotel is banking on Portland's tourists to fill rooms at its 180-room, extended-stay hotel, which would offer apartment-like lodging including kitchens, office space and laundry. "People like extended-stay properties ˆ— the larger rooms do cater to tourist markets," says Ara Aftandilian, principal at Summit Hotel. The development also would have a small amount of meeting space and retail space on the ground floor, Aftandilian says.

Former Jordan's Meats factory
Developer: Procaccianti Group, Cranston, R.I.
Project: A hotel from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Inc.
Cost: N/A
Status: Developer expects to present revised mixed-use development plans to the city in May

The Procaccianti Group backed out of its proposal last October to build a $110 million Westin hotel and condominium complex on the Jordan's Meats site, a move some speculated was due to a slow housing market. The city of Portland's planning department hasn't heard of the company's plans since then. "We think it's hit the mothballs," says Barbara Barhydt, development review services manager at the city.
But Procaccianti hasn't given up on the site, according to company spokesman Ralph Izzi. The developer plans to present a modified proposal to the city in the next month, Izzi says. He says the company expects to work with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Inc., which owns such hotel brands as Westin and Sheraton, but he doesn't know the cost of the new project. "We're going to deliver the right product for the area," he says. "We haven't arrived at it yet."

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