The Portland city council last night deadlocked for the second time on a vote on the fate of the Maine State Pier.
The council failed to rally the five votes necessary to select either Portland-based Olympia Cos. or Porstmouth-based Ocean Properties to redevelop the aging pier, which is located in the Old Port next to the multi-million dollar Ocean Gateway terminal currently under construction. A motion to award the bid to Ocean Properties, of Portsmouth, N.H., fell short in a vote of 4 to 3 in favor, and the council will likely take up the vote again after the Nov. 6 election when three seats currently filled by councilors supporting Ocean will be up for grabs, according to the Portland Press Herald. Both proposals are valued at upwards of $100 million.
Bob Baldacci, a spokesman for Ocean, called the vote a “loss for the city,” while Kevin Mahaney, president of Olympia, told the paper his team was looking forward to see what happens.
