A Portland developer and an internationally renowned architect unveiled plans on Tuesday for a development in Portland’s Old Port that would include the tallest building in Maine.
Old Port Square, a collaboration between real estate developer East Brown Cow and Safdie Architects, would overhaul the city block bounded by the mid-rise bank buildings and parking garages of Middle, Union and Fore streets and the small-scale shops and apartments of Exchange Street.
The project’s centerpiece is a new 30-story, 350-foot luxury hotel and apartment high-rise with a restaurant at the top and a publicly accessible sky lobby that would rise from the center of the block, where Canal Plaza is located today.
The tower, designed by architect Moshe Safdie, whose past works include the modular Habitat ‘67 in Montreal, the Walton family’s Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, and the Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore, was inspired by Maine’s lighthouses, according to the group.
It would also dwarf every other building in Portland and, depending upon how you count, the entire state of Maine.
The tallest building in Maine today is a matter of some debate. Saint Joseph’s Church in Biddeford stands 235 feet tall and tops a list on Wikipedia, while the Casco at 201 Federal Street in Portland claims to be the tallest, despite being shorter. Down East magazine looked into it and noted that the Penobscot Narrows observatory towers over them all at 447 feet.
In addition to laying claim to Maine’s new tallest building, the Old Port Square development would renovate a number of existing buildings, including the old Fore Street Garage, which would be fitted with solar panels, EV charging stations and a sculptural illuminated facade.
Three Middle Street buildings — 200, 184 and 178 — would be renovated for a variety of high-end retail shops and boutique private lofts.
The development would also include new pedestrian walkways and landscaping.
The city of Portland has received some application materials for the project, but the application has not been deemed complete nor has it been approved, city spokesperson Jessica Grondin said on Tuesday.
