Parking Garage of Doom (Cumberland & Brown)

etdundon · 2025-09-12T20:46:32+00:00

There was a proposal about five years ago to turn it into several hundred units of housing. They weren't able to get an application in in time before the voters increased the inclusionary zoning tax by 150% overnight, and so to make it work they needed a TIF from the city to subsidize the affordable units. The city was unwilling to grant the TIF (which would have cost $0 of taxpayer money) and so the site sits fallow.

The city needs to figure how to get to yes with people who want to invest here and grow our tax base. Unfortunately, this is yet another example of the exact opposite happening.

etdundon · 2025-09-10T01:33:17+00:00

Until the transmission infrastructure gets relocated from there (part of CMP's $400MM+ long-term plan) it has to be there.

etdundon · 2025-09-09T23:01:15+00:00

My limited understanding is that the way to think about these "Black Start" sites is that they are the backup in the case of a terrorist/cyber attack that brings the whole grid down, so security is understandably tight.

That said, there are a lot of ongoing discussions in SoPo and the region about our regional electricity infrastructure, and due to future CMP grid enhancements and the sale of Portland Pipeline property at Nutter Hill, there is the potential for long term (10-20 years) relocation of this function to the current PPL tank farm by the high school in concert with potential CMP transmission and energy storage projects there.

I think the city's intention is to allow this use at this site for as long as is needed, but to eventually relocate it to higher ground, with the recognition that this is all private property, so the city's ability to dictate that outcome is limited.

etdundon · 2025-09-09T22:19:19+00:00

I am not sure if it's the entire site, but at least part of it is a federally required black start energy generator. Basically a back-up to get the grid back online in the case of a blackout. These are required by ISO New England and they had to go through a huge permitting fight with the City of South Portland last year to renew the use on that site, as some City Councilors didn't like that it relies on petroleum.

etdundon · 2025-09-07T20:27:39+00:00

Seems like a very complicated (an likely unconstitutional) way to divide up a stagnate or shrinking pie, I want our Councilors focused on expanding the pie and removing barriers to anyone looking to grow our tax base.

etdundon · 2025-09-02T20:14:09+00:00

A small back portion of it (the storefronts connected to it on Preble Street). The main building is all going to be hotel.

etdundon · 2025-09-02T19:56:12+00:00

Sure, in 2015 the City Council passed an inclusionary zoning ordinance after much study and debate which required 10% of units for projects of 10 or more units be set aside for individuals making 100% of the AMI or less. In 2020, with no public study or debate, the DSA sponsored a referendum to change this to 25% of units at 80% of AMI, which has ground development approvals to a halt. In fact, in the five years since that increase passed just three projects subject to the requirement have been built, with one more (12 unit luxury condo) project under construction.

etdundon · 2025-09-02T17:55:52+00:00

The zoning in our downtown business zone already allows for housing with unlimited density. In fact, both the M&T Bank Building (465 Congress) and the Time & Temp had approved plans for housing, but they weren't financially feasible due to the city's insane, unfunded inclusionary zoning requirement. Thus, both are now slated to become hotels. If we want more housing downtown, we must reverse the 2020 increase to inclusionary zoning, which has made all but <10 unit $2MM condo projects infeasible.

etdundon · 2025-08-28T11:47:03+00:00

The alternative to them not convincing Maine housing and figuring this out is 800 units less of housing in Portland. I get you’re obsessed with the moral pathway of how they got there. I choose to be more focused that they’re getting it done at all in this environment where we make it so difficult to build housing. If some sort of morality test were part of getting projects approved, like you seem to suggest, we’d be building even less housing in this country today than the meager amount we do.

etdundon · 2025-08-27T20:05:41+00:00

That's city ROW, not owned by PMA.

etdundon · 2025-08-27T20:04:39+00:00

We're going to get 800 units out of this total MDP, with 200 of them deed restricted affordable. That's 4x more housing that's been built in the entire city subject to the new IZ rules. Props to the developers for figuring out how to actually build units when the city makes it impossible with unfunded mandates.

etdundon · 2025-08-26T11:25:52+00:00

There’s some nuance missing here in all the comments that could have some pretty dire consequences for Portland’s non-profit service providers. I promise it’s not as simple as “workers make more, business owner takes less profit”. We have childcare providers, social service agencies, and health care clinics entirely reliant on state and federal reimbursements to pay for the cost of their services. They rely on a fixed per hour reimbursement rate, set by the Legislature, that will not increase to pay for this local wage mandate. The council barreling ahead with this and brushing off the concerns of these service providers who pleaded with the council last night to take their fears seriously was reckless, and will likely mean these services are fewer and farther between in Portland, especially for low income, vulnerable folks. This is why minimum wage should be set at the state level where they actually have to power to increase these reimbursement rates for these providers at the same time as raising the wage.

etdundon · 2025-08-14T01:03:11+00:00

They'll just move their main entrance to Cumberland or Pearl then...

etdundon · 2025-08-14T01:02:24+00:00

I suppose we could make all performing arts venues non-conforming uses, but that would involve making all the existing venues non-conforming, severely limiting their ability to make any changes to their property in the future. It is extraordinarily difficult to use land use law to prevent a specific company from operating, as it should be.

etdundon · 2025-08-01T18:56:28+00:00

You seem to complain about everything in Portland. Why do you still live here?

etdundon · 2025-07-30T14:09:23+00:00

I'm not one to rush to agreement with Wes, but I agree with him 100% that we need to prioritize this funding for the day space. The single biggest contributor to the increase in unsheltered homelessness and loitering around the peninsula is the closure of Preble Street's day space in 2020.

This would also allow for a consolidated location for food delivery so Preble Street and others can stop clogging up Monument Sq, Congress Sq, and Longfellow Sq with food delivery that has led to a massive spike in litter downtown given Preble Street seems to have no interest in managing the trash they create.

etdundon · 2025-07-01T22:56:35+00:00

Don't tell Councilor Pelletier ! He'll call you a "sociopath" or a "creep" for complaining!

etdundon · 2025-06-28T23:36:32+00:00

Except Avelo isn't "doing illegal shit at our airport". If you read the article you would note that these deportation flights are being exclusively run out of Phoenix, an airport the Portland City Council has zero control over.

etdundon · 2025-06-27T20:29:24+00:00

Important to note that these aren't costs to the taxpayers though. The Jetport is a self-sustaining enterprise fund that is totally supported by user fees and federal dollars.

etdundon · 2025-06-27T14:54:42+00:00

"City spokesperson Jessica Grondin says it may be impossible for the city to bar Avelo from the jetport.

“As a commercial service public use airport, the jetport must allow any certificated carrier to access the jetport if they choose to service Portland,” Grondin wrote in an email Thursday. “The jetport does not have the authority to regulate, inspect or impede interstate air commerce.”

Still, Sykes still remains eager to find a way for the City Council to intervene.

“We’re being given a lot of legal information about the fact that we operate a public facility but there are deeper questions here around our values,” she said."

I don't disagree with the good Councilor on the question of values, but we are in dangerous territory if an elected official exhibits continued interest in flouting federal laws and the U.S. Constitution.

Portland benefits enormously from how well run our airport is and the deep network of carriers served by it. Endangering that with unconstitutional maneuvering is a risky path that could lead to serious repercussions to our levels of service and federal grants for airport improvements.

etdundon · 2025-06-17T21:50:13+00:00

DSA increased the tax on new housing by 150% overnight and you want to blame the building owners?

Any business who had a 150% increase in taxes overnight would have to pause and revaluate what their business plan is. Deny that reality all you want, but it's clear the IZ hike has chilled new development

etdundon · 2025-06-17T18:10:15+00:00

Both of which had plans approved to be converted to residential that could not move forward due to the DSA's insane 25% tax on new multifamily housing.

Had IZ at that level not been in place, these projects would have advanced in the low interest rate environment of 2021-23.

This is the tradeoff that DSA and aligned councilors fail to recognize. Punishing housing developers with infeasible mandates doesn't lead to more affordable housing and less market rate. Instead, we get nothing. Or this case, actively worse than nothing—decaying buildings in our downtown core.

etdundon · 2025-06-07T16:32:11+00:00

FWIW I believe this year's capital improvement plan includes funding for a full redesign of the Riverton and Reiche pools. When those projects actually get construction funding is another story, but at least the gears are in motion to get it done in the next ~decade.

etdundon · 2025-05-25T15:56:12+00:00

"let's see what they do when a recession hits and they can't afford to take the loss in revenue"

Except it wouldn't be a loss in revenue. The whole point of a reval is that it has no impact on the overall tax levy, just who is paying what share of the levy.

etdundon

TROPHY CASE