Portland gets $750K to revive waterfront park plan
Photo / Peter Van Allen
A view of the Amethyst Lot in Portland, with the headquarters of WEX Inc. in the right background. The lot, now primarily used for parking, is the site of a proposed waterfront park.
The city of Portland will receive $750,000 in federal funding to develop a parcel on its eastern waterfront into a public park.
The grant from a National Park Service program will go toward the initial phase of Portland Landing Park, first proposed for construction in 2017 on a three-acre space between the city’s Ocean Gateway marine terminal and the Portland Co. site now under development.
Known as the Amethyst Lot and now used as a parking lot, the area could ultimately include a boardwalk, pathways, a boat landing, playground equipment, seating areas, lighting, public art and more. The original estimate for the project totaled over $16 million.
According to the city, more than 5,000 residents live within a half-mile of the proposed site, and more than 1 million people visit that part of Portland annually.
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King- I-Maine, announced the grant award in a joint news release Tuesday.
“Portland’s parks, trails, and outdoor spaces play a critical role in providing access to the bodies of water that make it an attractive destination,” they said. “This funding will boost revitalization efforts to improve this area of the city by providing new recreational opportunities for underserved residents and creating vital connections to the Portland waterfront from the downtown district, benefitting residents and visitors of Portland.”
This grant was awarded through the National Park Service’s Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Grant Program, a program funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund State and Local Assistance Program.
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