The Development Team for the “Business Hotel” – Attorney Mary Costigan of BernsteinShur, Front; Richard Mielbye, Behind Mary;  Architect Dustin Kurle, to Left of Mielbye.

A Rendering of the Approved  Condominium for 30 Fox Street.

A View of Proposed Hotel at 203 Fore Street. The Metal Panels in the Middle are Broken up by “Bookends” of Brick on both Ends to the Satisfaction of the Planning Board.

In an as easy a first workshop as those public sessions often go, developers for a 122 room “business” hotel at 203 Fore Street were given the green light to advance to the next level – a public hearing before the city’s planning board at which transportation plans will also be presented.

Notably there was no public opposition to the proposed hotel from the nearby twelve condominium owners.

Richard Mielbye, Miel’s Development Group, has been working closely with city staff, Caitlin Cameron, Portland Urban Designer, for well over a year which was instrumental in this smooth workshop according to Mielbye and others.

Architect Dustin Kurle, of DLR Group, said that 31 off-site parking spaces are being sought and will be presented at the next Board meeting.  The main entrance will be on Fore Street with curb appeal planned for the India Street side because “it’s a very busy street” said Kurle. There will be a plaza at the corner of Fore and India Streets as part of that effort curb appeal for pedestrians.

Please visit post herein dated April 8, 2018 for background on this application.

Late last night Dyer Neck Development, LLC received approval for its “significantly” revised three unit condominium building located at 30 Fox Street from the planning board.  City staff Jean Fraser in her overview said the task has been “trying to balance a number of concerns” – some of them raised by neighbors on either side of the currently vacant lot.

Those significant changes include a reduction in the size of the building with the loss of one bedroom on the top floor, a color change in order to reduce the massing and allocating more room for a car turnaround.  “We’ve been at this for a while and I’m comfortable with where we are today,” Tom Errico, city traffic consultant told the planning board referring to the car turnaround issue.  Not everyone agreed with Errico’s assessment.  Nick Sichterman, an uphill neighbor told the planning board that “If this lot were big enough to accommodate the parking that would be fine, but it’s not large enough.  Don’t waive away this just to save developers.”

An emotional George Rowe was angry with the planning board for making the parking an issue.  “This is a great project.  Why has this property become a problem when everyone else backs out on Fox Street?”  (See above left photo.)