🔒Boutique hotel set for May debut on Portland waterfront

Just in time for the tourist season, Portland’s busy waterfront district will welcome a new boutique hotel this May with the opening of the Evalina in the Granite Block building at 215 Commercial St. The 15-room, five-story Evalina Hotel is being developed by owner Scott Lindsay. South Portland-based Optimum Construction handled the renovation of the circa 1854 building, while a creative team at Fathom Cos. managed design and decor. Named after one of the building’s earliest owners, Evalina Fox, the hotel’s 15 suites include five one-bedroom and ten two-bedroom layouts. Arched windows frame views of Commercial Street and several units open onto private decks. The top-floor collection features three duplex suites, each with a private mezzanine level that serves as a living area. Each suite is slightly different in layout and design, including one fifth-floor unit with a custom bar sink and entertainment nook.

Lindsay has owned the property since 1993 and said the project represents more than adaptive reuse; it is an act of care. “Owning a building like this comes with a responsibility,” said Lindsay. “In the Old Port, property owners are in many ways, modern-day Portland historians. You learn the layers of the city through these walls — how it’s changed, who passed through, what endured. “The Evalina wasn’t created for speed or scale. It was built thoughtfully, over time, because preserving this sense of place matters.”

'Perfect fit'

The Evalina will be managed and operated by Fathom Cos., the Portland-based hospitality management and development company known for creating two larger hotels in the city — the Press Hotel and the Canopy by Hilton — and the Weldon "aparthotel." “The Evalina Hotel is a perfect fit for our portfolio,” said Brandon Hussey, Fathom's vice president of hospitality. “We’re thrilled to bring this historic building back to life and introduce guests to a truly local experience in the heart of the Old Port.” The hotel will join eight other hospitality properties along Commercial and Fore streets, along with another three a few blocks up the hill in the Old Port, and several more on Congress Street. A 148-room Residence Inn / Moxy Hotel by Marriott is nearing completion at Thompson’s Point in Portland and four other projects on the Portland peninsula have approvals. They include one at Canal Plaza, two in Monument Square and one more on Congress Street, next to City Hall. According to Visit Portland, there are more than 6,000 hotel rooms in Greater Portland.