A Portland developer will seek final city approvals this week to build an office building and residential condominiums on two vacant parcels near the city’s eastern waterfront.
Bateman Partners wants to build a five-story, mixed-use office building at 16 Middle St. and a four-story, mixed-use condo project at the corner of India and Fore streets. The parcels have long been eyed for development, but until recently they had been tied up in a yearslong lawsuit.
The projects, including high-end condos ranging in price from $450,000 to $1.5 million, are the latest evidence of the hot market and redevelopment boom in the city’s East End. And they come as other projects also are brewing in the India Street neighborhood, including the possibility of more residential units and hotels.
The company first presented its plans to the city last year but has been busy working on other projects, including the Inn at Diamond Cove, Vice President Nathan Bateman said. With the inn scheduled to open June 25, Bateman said the company can now focus on this project, which is estimated to cost nearly $10 million.
The condo project is the latest in a string of residential developments, both across the downtown peninsula and in the historic India Street neighborhood. Others nearby include an 86-unit condominium project, known as the Bay House, that was recently completed on Newbury Street and a development called the Seaport Lofts, which is currently under construction on Newbury Street. When finished, Seaport Lofts will add seven townhouses and 32 more units of housing in the area.
Meanwhile, the City Council is weighing a request to rezone a nearby waterfront parcel that is home to the former Portland Co. industrial complex but is intended for residential uses, among others. That proposal is facing fierce opposition from some Munjoy Hill residents, who object to proposed building heights and may try to block the project through a citywide referendum.
Bateman said the company is not seeking any zoning exceptions for its proposed projects at 16 Middle St. and 185 Fore St. As proposed, the Middle Street office building would be the taller of the two buildings at 65 feet. Both would have commercial tenants on the ground floors, but Bateman would not disclose any of the tenants. Parking would be provided in Ocean Gateway garage.
Eight condominiums are proposed for the second through fourth floors of the Fore Street property. Bateman said half of those condos, whose prices start at $450,000, are under contract, including one of the two $1.5 million penthouses, which have rooftop decks and ocean views looking down India Street toward the Ocean Gateway terminal.
“There will never be buildings built in front of them,” he said.
The India Street Neighborhood Association supports the project, even though the prices of the condominiums will be too high for most Portland residents to afford, according to its president, Hugh Nazor. The group has supported the construction of housing to bring more residents to the neighborhood.
“We wanted more feet on the street. We wanted to keep the demographics about the same, both financially and racially, (but) that isn’t happening,” Nazor said. “It’s nothing against the design of the building, it’s just that the people who are likely to buy there are unlikely to be neighbors to anybody other than at the condo.”
He added, “It will be good for the restaurants.”
The association, however, is pleased with the building designs and the fact that the office building will mask a six-story parking garage.
The two parcels were originally included in the ill-fated Riverwalk project, a $100 million project that promised to remake a significant portion of the eastern waterfront by adding 125 luxury condominiums, office and retail space, and a parking garage. The project fell apart in 2008 after the six-story parking garage was built and the land was tied up in a lengthy legal battle, which was resolved in May 2013.
Fred Forsley, president and co-owner of the Shipyard Brewing Co. and a former Riverwalk partner, retained ownership of the parcels on Middle Street and Fore Street, while the Boston-based International Real Estate Corp. retained ownership of the parking garage and a roughly 1.5 acre lot at Fore and Thames streets.
Frank O’Connor, a managing partner with the Portland-based brokerage firm NAI-The Dunham Group, said the vacant parcel at Fore and Thames streets and the parking garage went under contract in February as part of a pending sale that could close this summer. He would not disclose the sales price.
O’Connor said the potential buyer doesn’t have any firm redevelopment plans, but is considering building a hotel, market-rate apartments and retail space.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.