Portland eyes state pier for improvements
Portland officials plan to add public amenities to the Maine State Pier while reserving the aging structure for major development in the future.
The plan - a product of City Council input and feedback from a series of public meetings earlier this year - is designed to make the pier available for public use while the city works to reach a consensus on a large-scale development project for the pier and nearby uplands, the Portland Press Herald reported. The plan calls for tearing down half of the two-story transit shed on the pier to allow better views, and housing a public market, museum, restaurant or offices in the remainder of the building.
Cruise ships would still dock at the pier, but primarily at a new berth at the end of the Ocean Gateway terminal, a project that city officials hope will be funded by federal stimulus money. Planners also suggested adding public berthing space for small boats, the paper reported.
The council's Community Development Committee last week unanimously endorsed the major concepts of the plan, which calls for structural improvements totaling about $2.4 million. Over the past year, two developers who planned to lease the 87-year-old pier canceled major redevelopment projects, citing the bad economy.
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