Governor Janet T. Mills (D), Dan Fishbein, Presidet of Sun Life US and Senator Susan Collins (R) Cutting the Ribbon.
Dan Fishbein, President of Sun Life US Addresses the Audience at the Grand Opening.
Prominently situated on Fore Street on the Munjoy Hill waterftont is a spanking new office building that was praised at its grand openinng this afternoon as a magnet for future employees rather than a mandate – that was the consensus of the speakers who celebrated this occasion with words of welcome extended to Dan Fishbein, President of Sun Life US.
Guests at the Grand Opening heard Maine political leaders praise the 77,000-square foot office building with a majestic view of Portland Harbor. Governor Janet T. Mills (D) the first of the four political leaders to speak thanked Sun Life officials for choosing to build this “state-of-the-art” building in this space. “This beautiful building will be a draw for new employees,” she said. Attracting families because of new job opportunities is a priority of the Governor and her administration in a state recognized for its aging population. Back on December 15, 2022, the Governor said that “Munjoy Hill is becoming a technology hub.” That was at the Grand Opening of COVETRUS, a global, animal health technology and services company.
Senator Susan Collins (R) quipped that she hoped her staff did not see the interior of this building because of its beauty and all of the perks that accompany those working there. She stated that this building is about “economics” that it brings to this part of the state. Senator Angus King (I) said: “This phenominal setting is the future of the work place.” He predicted that within five years this will be one of the hot areas in the northeast; presumably referring to the redevelopment of the almost ten acres of waterfront property. Portland’s Mayor Kate Snyder added her enthusiasm for the thoroughly modern four-story building. She reached out to the developers Casey Prentice and Kevin Costello of Portland Foreside, both of whom were in attendance at the celebatory event that appropriately turned into a festive occasion following the ribbon cutting.
The completion and grand opening of the Sun Life US building is the second building to be completed in the Portland Foreside development. The first building to be completed was TWELVE, the award winning restaurant, a stone’s throw from the new Sun Life building entrance at 110 Thames Street. (TWELVE and its redevelopment from a former pattern storehouse for the Portland Company has been the subject of multiple stories on this blog.)
According to Casey Prentice, President of Prentice Hospitality, the development of Portland Foreside is preparing to enter its next phase of development. That will include 250 apartments, 200 condominium units, a 1,000 car garage and a 130 room boutique hotel. Approvals for those projects are currently on the planning board’s agenda. Fore Point Marina on the waterfront is already a popular facility for yachts entering Portland Harbor.
Dan Fishbein, president of Sun Life US said that his company has tried to “fit into the neighborhood” and to be a good neighbor. He said he didn’t want any tall buildings that would block views of the waterfront for neighbors on Munjoy Hill.