The Portland City Council on Monday night unanimously approved converting a small section of Federal Street into a pop-up park this summer.

The council first considered the proposal last week but delayed action after businesses opposed the plan.

This week, businesses that support the temporary park outnumbered opponents. They believed the pop-up park could draw people up from the Old Port to an underutilized part of town.

“This is a fantastic investment in the creative economy,” said Kate Simmons, a local consultant.

Several businesses were concerned about the loss of parking and how fast the proposal moved through the council.

However, Councilor Edward Suslovic said if the park presents any problems, especially with the movement of traffic, the council could revisit the issue. “We can undo this pretty darn quick. I’m willing to give this a try,” Suslovic said.

The owners of the soon-to-open Press Hotel proposed creating a temporary park on Federal Street between Exchange and Market streets from July 3 to Oct 12. The 200-foot section of road will be closed to vehicular traffic and spruced up with artistic benches, as well as some sort of indoor or outdoor carpeting and a canopy of lights for a series of performances including acoustic music, one-act plays, poetry readings, temporary art exhibits, film, dance and circus performances.

Sean Ireland of the Press Hotel said he envisioned having eight to 10 events a month.

The Press Hotel is partnering with the Portland Downtown District and Creative Portland. Organizers are also teaming up with other area nonprofits – the Portland Public library, Portland Trails, Space Gallery, Mad Horse Theatre, and Circus Conservatory of America.

“It allows us to take our studios out into the community more,” said Donald Tuski, president of the Maine College of Art.

Not everyone was on board with the plan. A representative of the federal courts unsuccessfully urged the council to restrict noise levels during the business day to avoid interfering with proceedings at the U.S. District Court on Federal Street.

Trudy Poulin, owner of Optical Expressions, opposed the park. If the park increases foot traffic in the area, the city needs to improve sidewalks in the area, she said.

“Without having these other issues, we don’t feel it is wise to close Federal Street for such a long period of time,”Poulin said.

Councilors, however, seemed ready to give the proposal a try. It has been dubbed the Federal Street Folly by Jim Brady of the Press Hotel.

“I admit to being dazzled by the Folly,” Councilor Jill Duson.

Related Stories