Grants aim to turn Portland-area 'brownfields' into developments of housing, hotel, child care center

Aerial view of 3 apartment buildings alongside a river

Rendering / Courtesy of Quaker Lane Associates A former warehouse site along the Presumpscot River in downtown Westbrook will be cleaned up to allow for construction of 110 apartments and 5,000 square feet of retail space.

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By Tina Fischer

The Greater Portland Council of Governments is making $3.9 million in brownfields funds available to transform five properties in Portland and Westbrook.

The targeted sites are expected to be redeveloped to create up to 600 new homes, an expanded child care center and a downtown hotel.

GPCOG estimates that the projects would also generate 232 permanent jobs and 400 construction jobs.

Tom Bell, a spokesman for the nonprofit, told Mainebiz that brownfields projects address abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and commercial properties whose development potential is complicated by some level of contamination.

"The program is designed to support redevelopment of blighted properties that would otherwise be too cost prohibitive," Bell said.

The projects call for:

The Fathom Cos.’ new hotel in the long-vacant Fidelity Trust Building at 465 Congress St. on Portland’s Monument Square. Developer Jim Brady has built other hotels in the city, including the Press Hotel and the Canopy.
60 apartments and an expanded child care center in the former location of Maria’s restaurant and adjacent parcels at 331-337 Cumberland Ave. in Portland. Of the 60 new housing units, 48 will be affordable. A new facility will be built for Youth & Family Outreach, which will double the number of children it can serve, from 50 to 100.
More than 250 apartments at Portland’s Thompson’s Point, part of a larger master development plan for the site, approved in 2012. The developer is Forefront Partners.
A former warehouse site along the Presumpscot River in downtown Westbrook will be transformed into 110 apartments and 5,000 square feet of retail space. The project will be built at 4 and 7 Dana St. and 921 Main St. Quaker Lane Associates of West Hartford, Conn., is the developer.
Affordable housing in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood, where the COMB Block redevelopment at 70 East Oxford St. will add 55 new apartments as part of a larger plan for 173 affordable units. Portland Housing Authority is the developer.

“These investments are about more than buildings — they’re about making sure families have safe homes, access to childcare and vibrant places to live and work," said Paul Johnson, GPCOG’s director of economic and community development. "We’re turning underused properties into opportunities for the whole community.”

GPCOG serves 25 member municipalities in the region.