“Midtown Project” Developers to Meet with Interested Parties – 11/13/14

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By Carol McCracken  (Pos # 2,221)

Federated Companies has announced that it will be holding a neighborhood meeting on Thursday, November 13, 2014 at the Abromson Center, Room # 216, 88 Bedford Street on the University of Southern Maine Campus, Portland.  The meeting will run from 5:30 – 7:30 pm.  (Parking is available in the adjacent parking garage.)

The meeting that is required by City Code, will discuss its request for Final Level III Subdivision and Site Plan approval to allow for the construction of the midtown project on Somerset Street between Elm Street and Pearl Street and Elm Street between the Portland Trail and lot with Trader Joe’s.  The re-application for the 3.5 acre midtown project was filed last month. This is the second request for development submitted to the City by Federated Companies, Inc. for a major development in the Bayside area of Portland.

The filing came following Federated’s announcement that it will scale back this development significantly to mollify the demands of Keep Portland Livable, a non-profit dedicated to stopping the development of this project.  The group, co-founded by Peter Monro, sued the city as a negotiating tool with Federated.

The revised proposal calls for 400 residential units in four buildings that are five or six stories over first floor retail pace, a seven story parking structure with 802 vehicles spaces and 90,000 sf of retail space.

Here we go again?  No, said Hill resident Dennis Bailey, recently. The Keep Portland Livable volunteer and co-author of the offensive Rose Mary Woods press release, with Peter Monro.  Bailey said we won’t be protesting anything about this revised plan.  We have made a deal and we are satisfied with it, Bailey said recently.

If you have questions or would like to submit comments, please call Richard Knowland, Senior Planner at (207) 874-8725 or email him at rwk@portlandmaine.gov  The application is on the workshop agenda of the city’s planning board for November 12, at 4:30 pm at city hall – room 209.