Elizabeth Boepple, is Chairwoman of the Planning Board.

A Proposed New Condominium at the Corner of Washington Avenue and Congress Street That Blocks the Public View of the Stuning Mural Painted Last Fall.

The Empty Lot Behind Two Tandem Coffee Buildings to be Developed as a Flex Building.

The cancellation of the city’s planning board meeting this evening delayed public scrutiny of two proposed projects for the east end of Portland. The planning board already has an overwhelming schedule and this delay will only complicate that fact.  Tonight’s meeting was cancelled because of a snow storm predicted for the northeast.  City hall closed at noon because of the storm.

Tucked behind two buildings rented by Tandem Bakery in East Bayside are 2.70 acres of land which are currently vacant. Property owner Michael Cardente, d/b/a Anderson Street Realty, LLC has requested a site plan review for the construction of a ten multi tenant industrial flex building.  The cost of the project would be $1.2 million on the site of a former scrap yard site. A flex building would accommodate separate users for a space by atlering interior walls to match the needs of the tenants.   Nearby but not on the same property is the Muslim Community Center.  (See bottom right photo.)

Less than a year following the completion of a stunning mural on the brick wall of the next door bar, SNUG, Hay Runner LLC, intends to build a 5-story, 17-unit market rate condominium on the empty lot that would block this engaging piece of public art from the light of day and the views of passers by. Plans call for 16 underground parking spaces with retail space on the ground floor and access to a green roof. The developer will contribute a fee of $170,000 to the city’s Housing Trust Fund rather than provide a workforce housing unit as prescribed by the city in this situation.  The address is 221 Congress Street.  (See above left photo.)

Last year Mike Salisbury and his mother, Freddie, owners of the building next door in which the bar SNUG is located, commissioned Maine artist Susan Bartlett Rice to paint a mural – to upgrade for safety reasons the vacant lot next to the bar. The result was highly acclaimed by all who have had the pleasure of viewing it. (See above right photo of Freddie Salisbury and artist Susan B. Rice in front of public art mural.)