Should housing be allowed on a key industrial corridor?
Photo / Peter Van Allen
Ron Gan and Molly Edelstein at 874 Riverside St. in Portland
Ron Gan, a Portland developer, has a proposal for a housing complex at 874 Riverside St. in Portland that would have 22 units, including two affordable housing units. The development, if approved as conceived, would have a three-story apartment building, the Flats Building, with units of 958 square feet to 1,427 square feet. An adjacent Alleyway building would have six townhouse-style condos. Benchmark Real Estate of Portland is marketing the project.
On a tour of the site, Gan and business partner Molly Edelstein said the project will need zoning changes. The area is zoned for light industrial use. “We went out to the neighborhood first. We contacted 50 neighbors and got a positive response,” says Gan.
Portland needs housing and other neighborhoods are getting built out. Gan cites two lists: One says Portland is ranked No. 11 on a “most liveable cities” list, but No. 1,200 on another list of affordable cities. His project would be on two acres, leaving plenty of room, he argues, for industrial use elsewhere on Riverside Street.
“This is where the new opportunities are,” he says.
Construction notes
AlliedCook Construction of Portland is managing the development of 40 Free St., a six-story condo development in Portland. The site will have retail on the ground floor.
Monahan Woodworks of Portland is fitting out the retail building at Portland’s Canal Plaza — a structure sometimes known as the “guitar pick” building for its oblong shape. The tenant will be Copper Branch, a Canadian vegan restaurant chain. Consigli Construction was the original builder, working with Portland-based Becker Structural Engineers, South Portland-based Sebago Technics, Freeport-based Michael Boucher Landscape Architecture and Portland-based Canal 5 Studio, which is based at 1 Canal Plaza. Canal 5 and Michael Boucher Landscape Architecture collaborated on the master plan. East Brown Cow owns Canal Plaza.
Risbara Brothers Construction, which is developing the 525-acre Downs mixed-use property in Scarborough, will serve as general contractor on the master plan. The planned Innovation District will be 150 acres and include 57 “turnkey” lots that could be used for light industrial, biotech and manufacturing.
Individual buyers on the residential, commercial and industrial park sites can either choose to hire their own contractor for individual projects or hire Risbara Brothers. The groundbreaking was Sept. 20.
The first major company to move in will be Pine State Services, which plans to move its workforce of 100-plus employees from Westbrook to the Innovation District.
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