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August 9, 2021

Finish line in sight on multiyear upgrade of Waterfront Concerts’ Bangor venue

concert crowd Courtesy / Waterfront Concerts This shot, taken from the stage just before the start of last Thursday’s first concert of the season, shows the change in elevation toward the rear designed to improve sightlines, and the premium-seat Rock Box in the middle.
By Laurie Schreiber

Recent upgrades to Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion, the amphitheater overlooking the Penobscot River in Bangor, came in just before show time last week.

The work has focused on sightlines and amenities for fans of the Waterfront Concerts summertime music series. The series, which usually starts Memorial Day weekend, had its first concert this year on Aug. 5 with a sold-out performance by country music artist Luke Bryan.

Contractors were working up to the last moment before the concert to finish the latest round of improvements on the multiyear renovation.

“Lots of building materials flying,” Waterfront Concerts founder and owner Alex Gray told Mainebiz by email.

The goal is to have the project completed by next summer.

“Our big focus is to make the fan experience better,” Gray said in a subsequent phone interview.

The upgrade was originally estimated at around $8 million but is expected to be substantially more due to the increasing costs of materials and labor, he said. The project is financed through a loan from First National Bank in Bar Harbor. 

“They’ve been fantastic as partners,” Gray said.

Fan-facing improvements

Waterfront Concerts, headquartered in Old Town, started offering large-scale concerts with nationally known acts in 2010. Gray initially negotiated with the city for a one-year deal.

But the series was more successful than anticipated and in ensuing years has drawn hundreds of thousands of concert-goers.

In 2013, Gray began Phase 1 renovations of the 16,000-seat venue that, over the next few years, included realigning the stage in order to mitigate noise disruption to the surrounding community. Other upgrades included construction of a backstage road and improved amenities for the artists such as dressing rooms, more bus parking and a commissary.

In 2016, Gray hired Robert Ervin of Ervin Architecture in Bangor to develop Phase 2 “fan-facing” improvements.

“We started to look at long-term goals of sight lines, elevation changes, a luxury environment and workable plumbing,” said Ervin. 

Early improvements included a move away from portable toilets with the construction of the venue’s first bathroom structure and the creation of an American with Disabilities Act seating section.

rendering of seats
Courtesy / Ervin Architecture

Constructed over the past year have been terraced seating areas and the “Rock Box,” at center between the blue and red zones, with premium seating. The structure in the lawn area is the new sound and light booth. Further construction will include the light-green buildings on each side; the saw-tooth design accommodates box seats without impeding sightlines.

Amphitheater enclosure

A larger goal was to create a more amphitheater-like enclosure shaped by terrain and building infrastructure.

In 2019, an essential element of that enclosure was accomplished with the installation of sheet piles along the Main Street side of the venue. The work was performed by H.B. Fleming of South Portland.

Sheet piles are sections of sheet materials, such as steel or concrete, that are driven into the ground to provide earth retention and excavation support. 

That was followed by construction of a terraced slope that extended from the stage to the rear of the venue, to accommodate elevation changes for various seating sections, with the goal of improving stage views and acoustics.

A box seating section in the middle of the venue, called the Rock Box, is designed to offer a high-end “living room” environment with catered food and drink service. A sound and light booth opposite the stage is designed to provide engineers with an optimal operating environment, said Ervin.

“They don’t perform on the stage, but they are integral members of the band,” he said.

rendering of entrance
Courtesy / Ervin Architecture
Future construction also includes a new main entrance.

With Thornton Construction of Milford as general contractor, a considerable amount of work was accomplished from the end of the 2019 concert season through mid-summer 2020, when the project was paused.

Other contractors have been J.R. Madden Custom Carpentry in Milford, Hampden Electric, Pellerin & Sons Plumbing and Lindsey Foundations.

In March, Gov. Janet Mills began relaxing restrictions on large gatherings. In late May, capacity limits for outdoor gatherings was raised to 100%. 

With the new guidelines in place, renovations rebooted in early June.

“It’s been quite a ride,” said Ervin. “It’s exciting to know we’re doing something unique and special, particularly for New England but also along the eastern seaboard.”

Some work will continue between shows. When the season ends Sept. 25, construction will begin on two new structures, one along each side of the venue. Those will house bathrooms on the first floor and second-floor luxury suites with elevated vantage points overlooking the stage. A new main entry will be built. The goal is to complete them by late May 2022, in time for next year’s concert series.

“We’ll be working between shows to coordinate the construction and meet that deadline,” said Ervin. “It’s ambitious, but we’ve got a great team.”

Asked if there were a Plan B for the concert series if the resurgence of the coronavirus were to result in new restrictions, Gray said, “As an industry we have looked for guidance from state and local officials. To date our Plan B had been to move shows to another time period once past any restriction.”

He noted that the Luke Bryan concert was originally scheduled for the summer of 2020.

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