Planning board approval paves way for Old Port hotel
Rendering/Courtesy Old Port Hospitality
A rendering of the proposed Hampton Inn at the former Jordan's Meat site
A high demand for hotel rooms in northern New England continues to fuel hotel projects in the city's eastern waterfront district. The latest project is a 122-room Hampton Inn at the site of the former Jordan's Meat plant, which this month received approval from the Portland Planning Board.
Mark Woglom and Greg Kirsch, principals of Old Port Hospitality, the project's developer, have previously said they want to begin construction this year on the $15 million project and open the new hotel by the summer of 2011. Their plans also include a 180-seat restaurant and 12 condominium units at the1.74-acre site located at the corner of Franklin Arterial and Fore Street. They purchased the former Jordan's Meat plant on Feb. 1.
The developers' site plans call for a six-story, 95,000-square-foot building that will house all three elements. Kirsch says that Sebago Brewing Co. will relocate to the new building when it is completed and they will own and operate the restaurant separately from the hotel. The condominiums will be located on the top floor.
"They are going to be more moderately priced than other recent proposals in the Old Port," says Kirsch of the condos.
As respective president and vice president of Opechee Construction in Belmont, N.H., Woglom and Kirsch have experience developing hotels in Maine. The company has built Hampton Inns in Augusta, Bath and Ellsworth, and other hotels in Biddeford, Scarborough and Freeport within the last 10 years.
Despite the difficult economy, Kirsch says demand for additional hotel projects in Maine remains strong because northern New England continues to be an attractive tourist destination.
"We believe that Portland and the waterfront area is very attractive and it is frequently impossible to get rooms and there is a demand for more rooms," says Kirsch.
Kirsch says the hotel will serve leisure travelers who want to spend quality time exploring Old Port and the Greater Portland region as well as business travelers. The hotel will include a meeting room but no conference facilities.
When asked if the room rates will be competitive with some of the other surrounding hotels in the eastern waterfront district such as the Hilton-Garden Inn, the Marriot, and the Portland Regency hotels, Kirsch would not comment.
"Not sure we want to be trying to position it at any particular price point," he says.
Greg Mitchell, director of Portland economic development division, sees the Hampton Inn project as another sign the local economy is improving and hopes it will serve as a catalyst for similar projects in that area.
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