Joe Dasco, at City Required Neighborhood Meeting This Afternoon.  Only a Few Showed up and Were Enthusiastic About “43 North”

The Proposed Hotel; The Building is Not Leaning, but Perhaps the Photographer Was!

Joe Dasco met with a handful of interested parties late this afternoon to present his proposal for a hotel/condominium complex to replace the former Rufus Deering Lumber Company, at 383 Commercial Street.  The neighborhood meeting is required by the city of Portland prior to the  application for a Level 111 development  goes to the city’s planning board for a public hearing and vote.  A public hearing has been scheduled tentatively for June 26th.  If approved, this development will be the fourth Dasco has accomplished in Portland.

The development is expected to be carried out in two phases.  The first phase includes a 157-room hotel for which Dasco and his Development Team (including architect David Lloyd) will be responsible for the exterior design and the permitting process to build the hotel.  The owner of the  hotel once this preliminary work is accomplished is a local, experienced hotel manager.   (Dasco  could not name who that is. at this time.)  A walkway between the hotel and the residential units was eliminated because the hotel owner did not want it and the planning board objected to it as well.)

Phase 11 will include an 89 unit residential condominium.  Dasco said he’s considering including some market rate rental apartments.  The building will include a fitness center and a “community space” with kitchen for building occupants.  The total space is over two acres of land for the development.

Dasco said that he is planning for  construction to begin this fall (before winter) with occupancy to take place in the summer of 2020 – assuming there are no complications in the process. Importantly, Dasco has not asked for any waivers from the city for this development.

Interested parties at the informational meeting at the Regency Hotel, Milk Street, were supportive of the development.