PORTLAND — Developers of The Forefront at Thompson’s Point took the first step Tuesday in what promises to be a comprehensive city review of their plan for a $100 million mixed-use complex.

The 90-minute workshop with the Planning Board included an overview of the project as well as a discussion of details, primarily the developers’ proposal for a single access road into the complex. The proposal calls for an arena for the Maine Red Claws basketball team, a convention center, a concert hall, a hotel and two office buildings.

The proposed access road would take traffic from the Fore River Parkway, across the front of the Portland Transportation Center, over train tracks and onto the Thompson’s Point peninsula. Developers said the cost of engineering and building the railroad crossing alone would be about $1 million.

Although the road would carry hundreds of cars every workday and again on nights and weekends when events are scheduled, developers said their traffic plan will work. A study by a traffic engineer is under way, they said, with results to be presented to the board at an upcoming meeting.

Board members appeared mostly sympathetic, noting that because it’s a peninsula, the ways to get onto Thompson’s Point are naturally limited. “It’s like you’ve almost got a pier, and that does limit your access,” said Bill Hall.

Board Chairman Joe Lewis noted that the board could focus on ways to make the traffic flow freely, but ultimately the responsibility and consequences will fall on the developers.

Office workers who are often stuck in traffic or basketball fans who have lengthy delays won’t be happy customers, he said, suggesting that the developers will likely come up with a workable plan without much prompting by the board.

City Councilor Ed Suslovic, who represents the area around Thompson’s Point, told the board that residents are most concerned about traffic – or parked vehicles – spilling onto the neighborhood’s streets. He asked the board to focus on ways to prevent that.

He also noted that the development will add to a broad range of uses in the area, including homes, medical offices, stores and the transportation center.

“The challenge is, how do we knit those disparate elements together?” he said.

After the meeting, one of the managing partners of the development said the board’s response at workshops will go a long way toward shaping the final plan.

Jon Jennings said the unofficial assent to the one-entry plan means that engineers can start to work on designing the railroad crossing. Other comments, he said, can be weaved into the final site plan, which is still being developed.

Jennings said there’s no specific timetable for getting the proposal through the board, although the goal of getting all necessary approvals for the project by the end of this year remains.

Assuming the developers meet that goal, he said, demolition of structures now on Thompson’s Point would start during the winter, with construction beginning early next year. The project would be done in late 2013.

 

Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at: emurphy@pressherald.com

 

Copy the Story Link