East End Housing Projects on Planning Board Agenda; 4/24/18

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56 Hampshire Street, Once Owned by David Sussman, and Leased to Portland Food Co-op Has Applied to Convert to Condominium Units.

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The Portland planning board will hold a workshop on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 to consider an application for the development of a thirty (30) unit condominium building with one retail space at 56 Hampshire Street.   The workshop will be held in Room 24, the basement level of city hall and it is the second item on the Board’s agenda.  It’s anticipated the item will come up around 5:30 pm.

Parking for sixty-eight (68) vehicles is also proposed.  The proposed building is 3 – 6 stories.  The proposed building is located at the former Portland Food Co-op building.  It was originally owned by the wealthy hedge fund owner David Sussman, former wife of Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME.), and leased to the Co-op until last October.   It served as the original Co-op until it relocated to the nearby shopping center. The site is to be developed by the same group that just developed the nearby Luminato.  (Luminato has one entrance on Franklin Street.)

At one time, Sussman made plans to develop the Hampshire Street corridor himself, even hiring an architect to draw up plans. But Sussman backed out –  causing hard feelings all around. Perhaps he knew then that he and Congresswoman Pingree would be divorcing and he would not be in the area much longer.  Members of the  community had hoped that Sussman would restore and revitalize the run-down Hampshire Street corridor, but that did not happen. Public comment will be taken at this workshop.

25 Monument Street, is on the planning board public hearing agenda.  The application is for a a four-story building that includes five 3-bedroom condos and 8 vehicle parking spaces on the first label.  That hearing is expected to happen around 7:45 to 8:30 pm. Public comment will be taken.

415 Cumberland Avenue is on the public hearing agenda for the conversion of the existing building into eight (8) residential units and two commercial units.  David Lloyd, is the architect on this project.  Public comment will also be taken on this item.

The planning board meeting will be held at the Basement Level, Room 24, of city hall, rather than city council chambers, as it normally is.