Shipyard Brewing pitches convention center
Shipyard Brewing Co. owner Fred Forsley has proposed building a convention center, hotel and culinary school on property he owns near the Portland waterfront.
Forsley is working to find developers interested in constructing the facility on land between Hancock, Newbury and Mountfort streets next to the brewery, according to reports from The Forecaster and the Portland Press Herald. His preliminary proposal includes up to 600,000 square feet, with a 100,000-square-foot convention center and a 200-300 room hotel. Forsley has also reached out to educational institutions that could operate a four-year culinary and hospitality program. The hotel and attached convention center would draw events that other facilities can't accommodate, Forsley told The Forecaster, emphasizing the Cumberland County Civic Center's focus on sporting and entertainment events.
Forsley has pitched the idea to city officials, and said he would likely seek tax incentives or tax increment financing for the project. He hopes to have it built within five years. A similar convention center proposal, pitched by developer Joe Boulos five years ago, fell through due to lack of support for new taxes to fund the project, according to the Press Herald.
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