Photo / Maureen Milliken
The courtyard on Lancaster Street, a pedestrian way behind 82 Hanover St., will face a new one at a mixed residential and retail building across Lancaster.
September 2, 2020
Large mixed-use development planned for West Bayside public works site
Courtesy / Cube3
A rendering of the proposed mixed-use development for 52 Hanover St. in Portland. At right is Parris Street, at left the retail storefronts that will face a courtyard and the Lancaster Street pedestrian walkway.
By Maureen Milliken
Where and what are the five former public works parcels in West Bayside?
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A mixed-use building with ground-floor retail and up to 171 apartments is planned for 52 Hanover St., one of six former Portland Public Works Department parcels sold by the city over the past four years.
Developer Tom Watson, CEO of Port Property Management, got the go-ahead Aug. 3 from the City Council for a use change to his purchase and sale agreement that paves the way for the development at the site of the former city fleet garage. Watson said that Port Property will submit an application to the city planning staff by the end of the week.
The proposal is in addition to 196 workforce apartments Watson plans at Bayside Village, on Marginal Way, two blocks away.
Watson had initially planned to redevelop the fleet garage with 18 maker spaces when he bought the property from the city two years ago, but the development and design of adjacent 82 Hanover, which he also owns, made him rethink his plan.
The 82 Hanover mixed-use development has three restaurants, and a wide courtyard with Lancaster Court, a pedestrian walkway, between the two properties. It also has office space and a variety of other businesses that face Kennebec Street, on the other side.
'It started with looking at that courtyard," Watson told Mainebiz Wednesday. "We could have something incredibly unique if we had a courtyard on both sides [of the walkway]," he said. "If it was just maker space and parking, it's not going to bring out the best of that."
The two properties are part of a six-parcel sale to five developers by the city when the Public Works Dept. moved to Canco Street.
Watson said the development will also complement his Bayside Village project, as well as other public works site residential developments. Other developments include Szanton. Co.'s Furman Block, which will have 46 apartments for those 55 and older; at 178 Kennebec St., and Parris Terraces, by Jack Soley, 23 workforce-priced condominiums at 60 Parris St.
Developer Rob Barrett is also in the initial stages of plans for a 25-apartment building in what's now a parking lot at 65 Hanover St., next to his The Public Works maker space development in what used to be the city's paint garage.
"There'll be 600-plus [residential units] in that neighborhood," Watson said. The different types of housing "bring a wonderful mix."
"There'll be much more of a 24-7 presence there," he said. "It's going to completely enliven the neighborhood."
'It'll be a lifestyle'
Watson's plans, with partner John Laliberte, are for a six- to eight-story building, designed by Cube3, of Massachusetts. The building would have 8,000 to 10,000 square feet of retail facing Lancaster Court, a pedestrian walkway that borders the courtyard of 82 Hanover St. Banded Brewing, The Whiskey Barrel and Wilson County Barbeque all have outdoor seating. He plans a similar courtyard on the 52 Hanover St. side.
The ground floor facing Lancaster Court will have retail that includes a cafe. The rest of that level will be underground parking. A grassy courtyard is planned to face Parris Street, with the building a U shape around the courtyard.
Watson said a cafe is planned as part of the four or five ground-floor retail spaces, and he envisions residents meeting friends there, going across the courtyard to the businesses at 82 Hanover St., in addition to the amenities that will be in the building. "It'll be a lifestyle," more than just a place to live, he said.
Watson said at least 10% of the apartments will be workforce, with the rest market-rate.
Barrett, across Hanover Street, is in the early planning stages of development 25 modern, energy-efficient apartments on what's now a 14,000-square-foot parking lot.
He said he wanted to make sure his other development, The Public Works, was doing well before he started, then the pandemic hit. 'I pushed it off, but I hope to get it started next year," he said.
He said he hopes to building workforce housing. "It's tough to make the numbers work, but if I can, I will," he said.
Photo / Maureen Milliken
The former city fleet garage at 52 Hanover St. will come down to make way for a mixed-use building that could include up to 171 apartments.
Seeing what could be
The evolution of the neighborhood has been a fast one, going in four years from a mostly industrial area to an entertainment and office neighborhood, and now, residential.
When the city put the land up for sale in 2016, the plan was for a variety of local developers to build a neighborhood out of the industrial space, rather than one large developer with one big project. That plan is now taking shape.
Watson said the success of development on the four acres of former city land comes from those who could look past the hardscrabble industrial sites and see something better.
The proposal doesn't need any kind of rezoning or city financial help, and he hopes to break ground next summer if all goes well through the planning and permitting process.
Despite the fact that 82 Hanover St. leased up in less than two years "it was not without its sleepless nights," he said.
"I see what I see there, but would others?"
He said he and Laliberte can also see past the one-story concrete and metal garage that's there now to a new 52 Hanover St. "I know other people will see it, too."
Former Portland Public Works Dept. property development
Courtesy / City of Portland
Former Portland Public Works Department property that was sold to five developers. 1] 55 Portland St., (Ford Reiche) 2] 52 Hanover St. (formerly 44 Hanover St., site of a planned mixed retail and apartment building by Tom Watson, Port Properties); 3] 60 Parris St., (Parris Terraces; Josh Soley) 4] 82 Hanover St. (developed by Watson] 5) 65 Hanover St. [now 53 Alder St., developed by Rob Barrett) 6] 178 Kennebec St. (Furman Block, Szanton Co.). Marginal Way is at the left and the Forest Avenue post office is at the bottom right corner of the photo.
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